T18 Esperanza (formerly O10) has an estimated birth year of <1955, making her one of the oldest living Bigg’s. She is presumed to be the mother of T19 Nootka (formerly O12, and also known as Mooyah), whose estimated birth year is <1965. Nootka has had three known offspring: T19A/O11 who died relatively young, male T19B Galiano born in 1995, and male T19C Spouter born in 2001.

Since 2001, the T18s have been a well-known foursome throughout the Salish Sea, among the most often encountered Bigg’s family groups in the region and nearly always traveling together. While they have been documented here every month of the year, their typical annual pattern has them  spending time in the Salish Sea between March and May, being absent for most of the summer, and returning for another extended visit from late August into October before departing again for the winter months. Beginning in 2022, for reasons unknown, the foursome began to split into two pairs for days or even weeks at a time. When this happens, it’s been grandmother T18 with grandson T19C and mom T19 with eldest son T19B.

T19B and T19C are both among the largest, most impressive adult male orcas in the Bigg’s killer whale population. Galiano has an extremely broad, tall fin that since he was a sprouter has always leaned over to his left side, leading to one of his alternate nicknames, “Mr. Floppy Fin”. Galiano is known to breach on occasion, and seeing him do so is on the bucket list of many Salish Sea whale watchers.

Baleen whale hunts in the Salish Sea are relatively rare, but the T18s have been involved in several successful minke whale predation events, and are also known to chase minke whales, traveling at top speed for distances of up to 10 miles or more before giving up pursuit. 

While the T18s are often seen in the company of many other Salish Sea Bigg’s, the T49As are among their most common associates. In both 2022 and 2023, we observed these two matrilines working together to take down a Steller sea lion in San Juan Channel right outside Friday Harbor. In both cases, the males from each family group were mostly peripheral to the hunt, with the females and juveniles being the ones to lead the chase.

While many families of Bigg’s killer whales have only become regular visitors to the Salish Sea over the last 1-2 decades, the T18s are among the matrilines that have frequented these waters since the 1980s, when they were originally designated the O10 pod.