Matia's wandering family

_{References: photos from various sources for markings reference, including photos by Hysazu - many thanks! www.joostvanuffelen.com/sites/… inspired Matia's pose}

Commission for EarthEmerald

The Southern resident killer whales number less than a hundred. With the baby boom of 2015 that brought this endangered population five welcome new members, the number now sits at 83. Edit: make that 82. L-95 Nigel has just been found dead earlier this month. Eighty-three members of one, big, extended family that roams the Salish sea and beyond. They are perhaps better known by their separate pod names: J-, K-, and L-pod, each in turn made up of different matrilines. On this painting are the remaining members of the L-12 matriline. Once lead by L-12 Alexis, who sadly passed away in the winter of 2011/2012, its members now solely consist of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren she left behind. The L-12 matriline has always been a close-knit group that took its own course away from the rest of the L-pod, and they continue to do so today. They tend to go further south than the others usually do, and never wander far from each other. Although not shown on the painting L-25 Ocean sun often travels with them, having outlived her direct family.

Swimming in front is L-77, Matia. She's a very pretty whale with wonderfully wavy cheek markings on the right side of her face, and on the left a very striking open saddle that appears to bear a solid black stripe. Born in 1987 she is almost thirty years old, and has had two calves. Unfortunately the first died quickly, but the second is still part of the family: she is L-119 Joy, and can be seen in the background as the leftmost whale. Behind Joy is Matia's big brother Mega, L-41. An apt name, for the 39-year-old bull is the largest whale of all the Southern residents. He was born one year after formal studies began, and so researchers have seen him grow from a baby into the mighty whale he is today. Swimming with a calf by her side is L-94 Calypso, Matia's eight year younger sister. The sisters share a very similar open saddle, both sporting the strange stripe-like black marking. Calypso is a mother to one of the babyboom calves: born in 2015, one-year-old L-121 Windsong stays close to her flank. On Calypso's right side swims her older daughter L-113 Cousteau who is now seven years old. By watching her mother care for Windsong she may be learning for the day when she will hopefully have a calf of her own.

The Southern residents do not have it easy, and face many human threats that challenge their survival. They are the only population of Killer whales to be listed as Endangered in US waters. Pollution of the ocean and a lack of salmon (their near sole food item) to hunt are the main issues. Learn more and see what you can do to help here: www.whaleresearch.com/#!orca-c… and here: www.wildsalmon.org/

Photos were not easy to come by for everyone but I have made my best efforts to paint everyone as lifelike as possible, down to the shapes of their faces and the nicks in their dorsal fins. For Matia specifically her eyepatch, saddlepatch, flukes, lip mark and the anterior part of her flank patch are all true to life. The rest of her flank and the exact markings going down from the corner of her mouth to her pectoral fin unfortunately had to be guessed.