Above, Stubbs scanned from Killer Whales by John Ford, Graeme Ellis and Kenneth Balcomb.

Bare Facts: Female ~ Born est.1927 ~ Died 1974 ~ Mother Unknown ~ Father Unknown ~ Children Sophia, Hardy ~ ID Fin half cut off; curling edges

Stubbs was the very first orca ever in the photo-identification study. She got the honor of being A1. This of course, alone, makes her very special.
She was probably born around 1927. She was already full grown and had two children with her, when she was first identified, in 1971. She was identified two years before the study really began. Actually, people claimed to have seen Stubbs as far back as 1967, but she was first positively identified in 1971.
When she was first seen, she had two full grown children with her, a female named Sophia (A36), probably born around 1947, and a male named Hardy, probably born around 1953. They actually didn't travel with her as much as most orcas and their mothers, probably because Stubbs was a sort of loner.
When she was first identified, her fin was already practically lobbed off, most likely from a propeller. She earned the fond nickname 'Stumbellina, the ugly duckling'. Propeller collisions, while terrible, thankfully don't seem to happen very often. Its a testament to the closeness of orca families that whales with such severe injuries as Stubbs survive and have long, if not entirely normal, lives.
Stubbs was first named Tulip, because the ragged edges of her fin made them look like the curling petals of a tulip. I don't know when, but eventually her name was changed to Stubbs.
While she always traveled with her pod, like any other healthy orca, Stubbs seemed to need more rest and more breaths, so occasionally she lagged behind them.
It wasn't just her fin...Stubbs was ugly. She was round around the middle, with a strange-looking neck and snout.
But, despite the obvious collision with humans earlier in her life, she had no fear of humans. This was demostrated when, at the very beginning of the study, when people were still afraid of the whales (including, a little bit, the researchers), Stubbs turned and went right up to their boat. She got close enough to touch, then after she'd seen enough, she turned and joined her pod.
Indeed, Stubbs demonstrated this complete non-existent fear of humans many times. Since she lagged behind sometimes, she'd float, looking like a log with her ragged dorsal, allowing the humans to come as close as they liked.
One incident, when she was 'sleeping', Stubbs was headed on a crash collision course with the researchers' small boat. At the last moment, she 'woke up' and averted her course, careful not to hit the boat.
However, humans didn't always repay her gentleness. One incident happened when Stubbs was with two youngsters (possibly Cracroft and A44), a plane had noticed them from above. The horrid pilot dove down and nearly hit the three whales, who remained motionless. A few moments later, the plane dove down again. This time it WAS going to hit them. The three whales dove down to escape. The littlest one stuck his head up to see the plane before Stubbs got him moving again.
Stubbs also seems to have been good friends with Nicola. The two had been seen locked in intense conversation more than once, and they were often found, two adults with grown children and no more calves to look after, lying with each other, a bit farther back than the younger part of the pod.
Around 1964, Sophia had her first child, Cracroft (A32). Stubbs had a grand-calf! In 1973, Sophia gave birth again, this time to the un-named A44.
Then, when she was around 47, in 1974, Stubbs died. She had lived a long, happy life, and started an identification study that is still going strong thirty years later. She showed the strange but beautiful trust orcas have for humans, and raised two healthy children. She also showed the acceptance orcas have for their own kind-no orca ever picked on Stubbs, though she was different-looking and lagged behind. She died a year after the study officially started.
Sadly, A44 died about a year after, but Stubbs lives on in her three surviving grandchildren-Cracroft, Plumper, and Kaikash.