Here’s a little in between commission I finished recently: a lineart drawing of a very special whale indeed. This is Tumbo, a transient killer whale living off British Columbia. His most remarkable feature is his severe scoliosis: his spine veers from left to right and back, leaving his body crooked and his dorsal fin swayed. He can’t swim fast and is by no means agile enough to hunt. Born in 2005 his scoliosis has become more pronounced over the years, and no doubt he would perish quickly if left to his own devices.
But his family takes care of him. His mother Tasu, T2C, leads her band of four (grand)children through the Salish Sea. Often only four whales are to be seen, with Tumbo lagging behind by as much as a mile. But they always stay in vocal contact, and when the gap becomes too great his family circles back to keep him company again. When they hunt, Tumbo patiently waits by the side and is fed a part of the meal.
Tumbo comes from an extended family of genetically curious whales. They have been known since the 1970s, when the whole T pod was captured, including Tumbo’s grandmother T2 Pointednose Cow. The famous white whale Chimo (T4) was a calf in that pod, as well as Charlie Chin (T1) who had a deformed jaw. A second, much lesser known white whale (Alice, T6), also used to travel with them but was never captured. It seems some strange lines run in this family, although all of Tumbo’s siblings so far are normal, healthy whales.