It's #FunFactFriday! Did you know that J1 “Ruffles” (est. 1951-2010) was an iconic member of J pod and was well known by whale watchers for his enormous waved dorsal fin that gave him his name? He spent most of his time J2 “Granny” and because of their close relationship, researchers thought J1 was the last calf of J2. However, a paternity study on the Southern Resident population in 2011 revealed that J2 wasn’t the mother of J1 and his mother was listed as unknown. In 2018 a genetic study revealed that J1's mother was in fact L45 "Asterix." Similar to L87 "Onyx," Ruffles was an L Pod whale who spent his time with J Pod. While this discovery was unexpected, it is also just another way that these animals continue to surprise us. Photo by @gary_j27 #orcaawarenessmonth #orcaactionmonth #ruffles #whaletales #orcalove #whales #killerwhales #orca #orcamonth #juneisorcamonth #salishsea #SRKW #JPod #getonaboat #exploreBC #storytelling #orcastory #orcafact #savetheorca #funfactfriday #dyk https://www.instagram.com/p/CPtH7LJL_TN/?utm_medium=tumblr
