Transients were, before the discovery of offshores, the mystery of the orca world. They are elusive, quiet, and to many creatures deadly, but there is so much we don't know about them, that they remain enshrouded in much mystery.

In the beginning, transients were wondered about a lot. After discovering the residents, researchers began to notice the lone whales wandering off by themselves, or in small groups. The whales that never interacted with the other well-known orcas, the ones that barely made any noise and had a habit of vanishing, and most importantly of all...the ones who occasionally were seen attacking and killing marine mammals, practically unheard of.
At first, researchers assumed these whales were 'outcasts'. They thought that maybe they had done something against whale code and been kicked out into exile, or maybe they were just oddballs and wandered off on their own. Eventually, enough of them were ID'd to assume they formed a population, which would be called 'transients' as they travel freely up and down the coast.

Gradually, information about this unique group of whales has emerged. Thanks to DNA testing, we have discovered that they are genetically distinct from southern and northern residents, as well as offshores. It is assumed by most researchers that some time in the FAR distant past, centuries or more ago, transients for some unknown reason branched away from the other orcas and formed their own gene pool. Since then, it is generally accepted that neither population has bred with the other. They may not even recognize each other as the same species.

Above; a transient fin cruises threateningly past some nervous harbour seals, from Killer Whales by Mark Carwadine.

Transients have lifestyles that are far removed from the resident ones. Earlier, everyone referred to the residents as 'normal', while the transients were different. But that's not true. For transients, their ways of life are normal, just like the residents live 'normally' for their own survival.
The most distinctive feature of transients is their choice of food. Transients hunt mammals and birds instead of fish. They have never been known to naturally hunt and eat fish, although it is there as an available food source. Instead, they hunt mostly pinnipeds, and often other cetaceans. Their main food source (in BC) is the harbour seal population. One transient can eat a lot of seals at one time! Because of the threat they pose, seals have learned to distinguish between the sounds of residents and transients: guess which ones they ignore and which ones they hide from! Second on the list of prey choice are Dall's porpoises. They're a bit trickier to catch, as they are the fastest marine mammals. However, orcas come in close second, and often tie. The porpoises are easy to eat when they're caught, but it takes a lot of effort to catch them, and they often get away thanks to pure speed. Other popular prey choices are: harbour porpoises, Pacific White-Sided Dolphins, minke whales, grey whales, seabirds (although they're mostly used as playthings or learning devices), otters, and sea lions. Sea lions are a favourite of BC whales, but they put up a mean fight. Many orcas have sea lion scars, and they often get away simply because it is so difficult to take them down. However, when a whole group attacks, there isn't much chance.

Transients hunt in unique ways. They remain totally silent, so it is unknown how they coordinate their hunt. Taking the prey by surprise, they sneak up and ram into them. Often for pinnipeds, transients will ram them and toss them in the air until they are stunned, then pull them under, drown them and rip them apart in only a few minutes. For minke, gray and other whales, transients attack from all sides, ramming the creature and usually jumping on its head so that it can't surface to breathe. Once the whale is worn out, it concedes defeat and dies (although whales are hard to hunt and often escape), and then comes the problem: dead whales sink. Transients must work quickly and take as much as they can before the whale is inaccessible. The favourite part is the delicacy: the tongue. Transients, in true orca fashion, share their food, and grown males have often been seen waiting patiently as the young whales and females eat first. Calves always get their fill first. This may be the reason transient groups are so small; sharing a seal among twenty whales would be pointless and worthless.
While all this may seem cruel, it's nature's way. Transients don't take more than they need (unless you count the unfortunate seabirds), and they work hard for their food.

Other unique aspects of transient life include their use of sound. While residents are very vocal, and each matriline forms a unique dialect, transients share one small collection of calls with their entire community, and rarely use them. The only time they are> vocal and loud is after they make a kill, and sometimes when they're socializing. Most of the time, they remain silent. They seem to have even specialized their breathing so that it's quieter. This is because they need to sneak up on animals that have excellent hearing, and they spend a lot of their time hunting.

The last major difference between transients and residents is the social structure. Transients have small, unpredictably stable matrilines. They do not make up pods and subgroups, instead choosing their travelling associates at random. While the basic link is the same as residents, with the mother and her children making up the basic 'pod', the bonds are not as strong. Often, grown children will leave their mother and wander alone, occasionally coming back to their original pod. Sometimes, random whales join together, and most of the time, even transients in stable groups can be seen alone. However, the thing about transients is they're unpredictable. Some groups seem to disperse easily and never return, while others break up and get back together over and over, like a bad love story, while still others remain stable and are never seen apart, strongly resembling resident pods.

Above; a normally small group of transients, from the book Transients by John Ford and Graeme Ellis.

Finally, there are other minor differences. Transients never have open saddle patches (when there is black in the patch), their fins are generally more pointed and straight-up (more shark-like), they play less, and they really try to avoid the residents.

Some transients are available for adoption under the BC Wild Killer Whale Adoption Agency (which also offers northern residents). However, only the ones who are reliably seen each year are available, and therefore most transients do not have names. Also, the naming system is simple when it comes to numeric names. In order to make sure a whale's heritage is easy to know even when it wanders from its family, it's ingrained in their names. For example, in T2 becomes a mother for the first time, her daughter will have the name T2A, and her next calf will have the name T2B. If T2A has a calf, it will be T2A1, and if T2A1 in turn has a calf, it will be T2A1A, etc.

Transients are organized into three communities, as well as one sub-community. These whales have all been linked through association (although one pod was linked through DNA testing) and have unique genetic data. The largest and most common community is the BC/Washington/SE Alaska Community, while the California community is tied in because ten whales from the BC-SE Alaska community were seen there. However, most of these whales stay in California and prey on gray whales, and are considered a sub-community.

The three and a half communities are:

-BC/SE Alaska Community (including Washington)

-Gulf of Alaska (Prince William Sound) Community

-AT1 Community

-California-Oregon Subcommunity

Transients skip the next social step, the clan, as they can all be seen together within a community, and they all share the same limited dialect. Instead, we jump right to the transient version of a pod. These whales can be whales that are related to each other, or simply travel together. However, group names cannot always convey which whales travel with whom. It all depends on many things. For example, T66 travels often with T72, who in turn also travels with T82. However, they are not in the same group due to numeric differences. Also, individual whales without numeric companions or relatives do not belong to groups, but rather, their names will be listed below and lead directly to their bio page.

The Groups*:

In the BC/SE Alaska Community:

-T2 Group

-T7 Group

-T10 Group

-T11 Group

-T12 Group

-T13 Group

-T17

-T18 Group

-T21 Group

-T23 Group

-T26 Group

-T28 Group

-T29

-T30 Group

-T32 Group

-T34-T36A**

-T40

-T41 Group

-T46 Group

-T48

-T49 Group

-T55 Group

-T59 Group

-T61

-T64 Group

-T66

-T67

-T68 Group

-T69 Group

-T70

-T71 Group

-T72

-T73 Group

-T75 Group

-T79

-T81 Group

-T82

-T83 & T84***

-T85 Group

-T88 Group

-T91 Group

-T93-T97**

-T99

-T100 Group

-T103 & T104***

-T105

-T108

-T109 Group

-T111 Group

-T116 Group

-T117 Group

-T118 & T121 +

-T122 & T123 +

-T124 Group

-T125 Group

-T129-T135 ++

-T137

-T139 Group

-T143 Group

-T145

-T146 +

-T147-T152 ***

-T153-T158 ***

-T159

-T160

-T161

-T162 & T163 +++

-T166 Group

-T168 Group

-T170-T172 ***

Probable Members of the California Community:

-T129

-T130

-T132

-T133

-T134

-T135

-T159

-T160

-T161

-T164

In the Gulf of Alaska Community:

-AU Whales

-AC whales

-AT whales (not including the AT1 Community)

In the AT1 Community:

-AT4, AT1, and AT14

-AT2 and AT3

-AT6

-AT17 and AT13

-AT9 and AT10

-AT18

-Deceased AT1 Whales (AT#s: 11, 22, 12, 8, 5, 7, 19, 20, 21, 15, and 16)

*-I wasn't able to find a full database on Californian transients, and so the only ones I know of in that community are whales who are also linked to the SE Alaska/BC Community.

**-These whales are not classified as an actual group because they are very poorly known. They may be related, or just travelling associates, but it is not yet known if they make up a stable group. In the case of T93-T97, they are mostly seen in SE Alaska.

***-These two whales were only sighted once and are hardly known. T103 and T104 have only been seen a few times. T147-T152 are hardly ever seen and are grouped together because they show up in the same spot. T153-T158 are grouped together because they were only seen once and they were together. T170-T172 were seen a few times, always together, but are not known to be a formal group.

+ -These whales belong to other groups but are catalogued separately because of numeric differences. T118 and T121 often travel together and with T70. T122 and T123 travel with T46. T146 travels with the T28 group.

++ -These whales are known to live exclusively in California, save one time. So they are grouped together for that simple reason.

+++ -These two whales are almost always together, so they may be related, but it is unknown. They do not form an official group, however.

++++ -Gulf of Alaska whales are now catalogued with number AT100 and up. However, they were formerly assigned distinct numeric names (AU, AC, etc) and to make this list shorter, that's what they're under here. Once you click on the page, however, you will find the whales' pages with their new numbers.