Yuculta (B13)

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Origin of Name=?

Photos of Yuculta

Above; Yuculta's ID photo from Killer Whales 2nd Edition by John Ford, Graeme Ellis and Kenneth Balcomb.

Bare Facts: Male ~ Born 1987 ~ Mother Scarlett ~ Father Unknown ~ Children Unknown ~ ID Wrinkly fin; thick base

Yuculta was born in 1987 to Scarlett (B7). He was her fourth known calf, and when he was born the family consisted of her, his uncles Hooker and Bauza, his great-uncle Baronet, and his older brothers, Izumi, Slingsby, and Nakwakto.
The B7 matriline was a fun place to grow up as a calf. While the older guys went off to rough-house, Yuculta had his big brothers to play with. Nakwakto especially was his play-mate, as he was only 3 years older than the little one.
When Yuculta was five, he gained a little sister as a playmate as well.
He got his last sibling in 1995, at the age of 8, when Raven was born.
Yuculta started to sprout rather early for whales; at the age of 12, his fin had already almost matched Nakwakto's. Since the time the above ID photo was taken, it's grown even more and is now much bigger.
From 1998-2002, the family suffered many losses. Baronet, Hooker, and Izumi all passed away. Since Izumi's loss, the family is now dominated by the three towering fins of the remaining brothers (Slingsby, Nakwakto and Yuculta).
In 2004, Yuculta gained a nephew or niece with the birth of his sister's first kid, Arrow.
Now, Yuculta is almost 20 years old. He's not even in his prime yet. He spends most of his time with his two brothers, goofing around or travelling regally. Like most of his family, his fin has become very distinctive as it grew; now it is very large and extremely wrinkly and ruffled. The brothers make quite a sight: Slingsby's fin falling over, Nakwakto's curled over on the top, and Yuculta's all wavy and wrinkled.
In 2006, Yuculta's fin unexpectedly changed. It is now flopped over half-way (while his brother Slingsby's fin is straight again!). We'll be watching to see if Yuculta's fin falls all the way.