Granny Returns to Salish Sea

Granny (J2): Oldest Known Orca in The Entire World

Granny (J2) the 105-year-old Southern Resident Killer whale has returned to the Salish Sea for another summer of foraging for Chinook salmon and socializing with her family J pod and the other Southern Resident Orca pods, K and L.

J2 has been observed and studied in our waters since the mid-1970s. There are photographs of Granny from the 1930s and the size and growth of Granny and the other orcas are used in the age estimates. Granny is recognizable from the gray saddle patch just behind her dorsal fin, and a half-moon notch in her fine. She is the matriarch leader of J pod and estimated to be born in 1911. The life span of a female orca is between 60 and 80 years old. Granny has surpassed those expectations greatly! Granny has no living offspring but is a grandmother of Samish (J14) and great grandmother to 3 other J pod whales.

Even at 105, Granny hasn’t lost her playfulness. You will often find her spy hopping and breaching along with the younger members of J pod.