UPDATE: Pedder has given birth to her first calf, T2B1! ~September 2006

The T2 Group is no doubt one of the best known transient families. We've tracked them through 3 generations, and they've opened our eyes to the fascinating dynamics of transient families. Not to mention, they're the only orca family known to host a white whale!

The T2 family story starts back in the 40s. It was then that a mysterious white whale popped up in a family of normal coloured orcas. The young whale was named Alice and was seen quite frequently over the years, travelling in the company of 2-4 other whales.
Then, around the early 1950s, another small white whale seemed to be born into the group. Almost immediately after, Alice herself disappeared. From then on, only one white whale was reported. In 1958, they came so close to shore, they were photographed, showing the white whale to be a young juvenile.
For the 60s, the entire group disappeared. And then, in 1970, the prime of the wild-capture era, the nets hit the group.
5 whales were caught in Pedder Bay, after being relentlessly chased for quite a while. The captors were eager to catch them, having spotted a white whale in the group. While in the nets, the whales were photographed and later ID'd by researchers. They all had unique features that the captors used to name them. The female Pointednose Cow seemed to be the mother of Charlie Chin and a large female who would later be known as Knootka. Another female was named Scarredjaw Cow after her deformed face, and she seemed to be the mother of the 3rd white whale, who would be named Chimo.
The capture almost inevitably ended in tragedy. Knootka and Chimo were sent to aquariums. Chimo was discovered to have Chediak-Higashi syndrome and died only 2.5 years later. Knootka was bounced from park to park and died twenty years later in 1990. Scarredjaw Cow, having refused to eat for 75 days, charged the nets and drowned in them.
By now, Charlie Chin and Pointednose Cow were the only members of their family left. About 7 months after being netted, an unknown person released the two and they returned to the wild.
Charlie and Pointednose Cow, or "Pono", were identified in the new orca study and given scientific designations. Charlie Chin became T1, and Pointednose Cow became T2 and got a new name: Florencia.
Shortly before the study began, Florencia gave birth to a son, later named Bajo. The 3 were a stable and common group until 1978, when Florencia gave birth to daughter Pedder. Almost immediately after, Bajo vanished. The group, now being Charlie, Florencia and Pedder, continued to be very common, and for some reason were never seen associating with other transients.
In the 80s, Charlie began swimming off on his own, the first time he'd been seen to leave the group. At the same time, Bajo was found after 8 years of being presumed dead. He was travelling alone. Meanwhile, Florencia and Pedder began to travel with other transients.
Within a few years, Bajo had disappeared again. In 1989, Florencia gave birth to her last calf, daughter Tasu. For the next few years, Florencia, Pedder, Tasu and Charlie were common and stayed together. Soon, however, Charlie disappeared, and Pedder broke away from her mother's family.
Pedder travelled with many other transient groups, but rarely spent time with her mother and sister. Then in 2002, Tasu gave birth to her first calf, Rocky. The group seemed to be split into two common groupings: Pedder was often seen by herself or with other transients, while Florencia, Tasu and Rocky were never seen apart.
In 2003, much to researchers' astonishment, Charlie Chin showed up again! It didn't last long though: 1 sighting later, he was gone again. Bajo, meanwhile, has been presumed dead.
In 2005, Tasu gave birth again, to the as-yet-unnamed T2B2. She still hasn't broken away from her mom, at age 17, and it is likely they will remain a stable group. In 2006, Pedder gave birth to her first calf at age 27, quite late for a firstborn.
Now, the fascinating family is seen quite often. Pedder and her newborn travel together, while Tasu, Florencia, Rocky and T2B2 are always together. Charlie hasn't shown up since 2003.
Following this group through the years has shed a lot of light on transients, and I'm sure as we watch them through the years, it will prove even more fascinating.