Bare Facts: Female ~ Born 1984 ~ Mother Tsitika ~ Father Unknown ~ Children Bend, A84 ~ ID Slightly curved fin; pointed tip; small finger mark on saddle
Clio was born around 1984, to Tsitika (A30). She was Tsitika's fifth calf, and third born during the study. She was also her mother's first (known) female calf.
Clio never met her uncle Wavy. For three years, the family consisted of her mom, her three playful, protective brothers, and her respected grandma, Nicola (A2). Nicola ran the group, giving Tsitika full time to care for Clio. Clio had the whole group taking care of her!
When she was three years old, in 1987, her grandma died. Since Tsitika still had her fins full with Clio, and another baby on the way, Clio's brothers took over, exploring unknown passages and bays along the coast. As Clio grew more and more independant, she explored too, staying carefully close to her mom. She was also careful not to get too close to the brothers' play. It was too rowdy for a young whale.
Clio played with the other young whales in her family. She spent a far amount of time playing with Kaikash, who's about her age.
In In the Company of Whales by Alexandra Morton, Alex describes a heart-warming tale of orca closeness. One day, when Tsitika is fishing with the brothers, Clio stays behind to play with Kaikash. Tsitika and the boys rounded a corner, straying out of the little whale's earshot. Though they were only out of earshot about a minute, Tsitika and her boys shot back in record time. Clio was pretty upset too-she dashed right over and stuck to her mother's side. Unfortunately for Tsitika, this meant the little whale's playfulness canceled the hunting.
In 1989, Clio surrendered the baby position to Blinkhorn, her new little sister. Then, ten years later, at the age of 15, Clio gave birth to a little calf named Bend! The same year, she sadly lost her big brother Strider.
A72 (Bend), is now 6 years old and doing fine, and so is Clio. In fact, she had a new calf that was first seen in mid-2005! The ID number isn't known yet. She turned out to be a good mother....of course, with Tsitika as her role model, what did you expect?
Clio is now 21 and healthy.