Ruffles (J1)

Ruffles (officially designated J1) was famous for his highly undulating, wavy dorsal fin, which looked exactly like the ruffles on a dress shirt. This distinct physical trait was incredibly rare among the Southern Resident killer whales of the Pacific Northwest. He was also a massive male, measuring over 30 feet long and weighing more than 9 tons.

When Ruffles was last seen in late 2010 and presumed dead in early 2011, he was estimated to be around 59 years old. While this is quite old for a wild male orca, the Center for Whale Research documented him as one of the oldest Southern Residents ever recorded. Because photo-identification only began in 1976, when he was already fully grown, his exact birth year remains unknown.

Ruffles was the oldest male in J Pod, which is one of the three families that make up the critically endangered Southern Resident killer whale population. These specific whales spend their summers foraging for Chinook salmon in the Salish Sea between Washington State and British Columbia. The Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor tracks this exact population.

Because adult male orcas travel extremely close to their mothers, Ruffles was most famously associated with Granny (J2). Granny was believed to be the matriarch of J Pod and was estimated to be over 100 years old at the time of her death. Because J1 traveled so closely with J2, researchers long suspected she was his mother.