Olympia
HWC# 0210
Olympia
is one of the most productive whales we know. She has been
seen around these parts since 1980 and since that time she has
had at least seven calves (See Olympia's Family Tree). She
also has a very successful lineage as well. Four out of
the eight calves have been seen in recent years. She also
has three grandcalves, one of which, Tribble,
is now a mature male. At this age he may be the father of
a few calves himself, however, only DNA testing will be able to
determine this. In 1998 both Olympia and her daughter Cascade
had calves. It is a pretty special day when three generations
can be seen together in the same area. Neither Olympia nor
Cascade were seen in 1999, although their calves were.
Thanks
to the years of hard work and dedication from researchers and
scientists, we are able to create a matriarchal family tree. Many
hours and lots of patience are involved in observing, recording
and photographing these animals. The researchers may have
only one chance to get a photograph of a calf's fluke. With
that picture they can build the matriarchal lineages of local
whales. Sometimes that chance just never happens. The
calves will not always raise their flukes when going on a dive;
and those fluke patterns are the keys to positive identification.
Olympia
is the ancient site of the Olympian Games. The Greeks celebrated
these games every four years. Olympia was not an actual
city, but only a sanctuary with buildings associated with the
games and to worship the gods. Olympia, the whale, received
her name from the scars on her dorsal fin (probably made by barnacles)
which resemble the Olympic symbol.
Olympia's
Family Tree
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Olympia-
F ---
fs: 1980
|
Anchor-
F ---
yob: 1983
Hummingbird-
F
yob: 1985
Cascade-
F ----
yob: 1987
Elbow-
M
yob: 1991
no name
yob: 1993
Sparta-
M
yob: 1996
Jota
yob: 1998
|
Tribble-
M
yob: 1990
Touchdown
yob: 1996
Cajun-
M
yob: 1998
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