Close Family
Egeria ~ Loquillilla ~ Goletas ~ Tribune ~ Skuna ~ Kokish ~ Quatsino ~ Zayas ~ Levy ~ Whirl ~ I108
Above; from closest to camera, to farthest: Quatsino, Goletas, Kokish, Egeria & Skuna. Copyrighted to Darren Wickenden. Don't use without permission.
The I11 matriline has always been a close, social family. They are often seen in the company of other common groups, such as A-Pod whales. During the study, they have celebrated many births and so far, only 2 deaths. Besides this, they've revealed genetic answers and proven themselves some of the easiest whales to ID (the distinctive marks of Kokish, Egeria, etc).
The I11 Matriline is still lead by the same matriarch it had at the beginning of the study. Like many I-pod families (and other lesser-known pods), the group was not well-known at the very beginning (1973). So, unlike in the A-pods, where any birth from 1973 on could be totally confirmed, some early births are not as certain in this family. When the group was first sighted, it was a small family unit consisting of the matriarch, a young calf (presumably the matriarch's daughter), and a newborn.
These whales would be ID'd as Egeria (the matriarch), and her two daughters, Loquillilla and Goletas. The first known birth in the family would come only a few years later, when Egeria's son Tribune arrived in the world. Soon the family proved their excellent parenting skills with the births of Egeria's other two sons, Skuna and Kokish, and Loquillilla's calves Quatsino and Zayas. They also proved their talent for getting the tongue-tying names!
Call it good luck or good health, but the I11 matriline has suffered only 2 losses during the study. The first death was Goletas' 3-year-old baby, Whirl, in 1998. Then, in 2003, Tribune disappeared at age 24.
More recently, genetic studies have revealed the fathers of 3 of the whales, Kokish has received a dramatic fin injury, and two more calves (Levy and I108) have been born.
The I11 family is still kept under the reign of Egeria. Neither of the daughters have had enough calves to start to split apart, and the family remains close-knit. They are extremely easy to recognize. Kokish's fin is split down the middle, Quatsino and Loquillilla both have rare open saddles, and Goletas, Egeria and Loquillilla all have very distinctive notches in their fins.
The family now has a healthy 9 members, with three big males, 3 adult females, 1 juvenile, and 2 calves. Let's hope the future is as promising for this familiar group.