Bare Facts: Female ~ Born est.1958 ~ Mother A10 ~ Father Unknown ~ Children Skagit, Skeena, Siwiti, Nahwitti, 2007 calf ~ ID Nick mid-way down fin; small grooves at base of fin; swirly saddle

Before I write about Yakat, just let me say that no matter what my scanner tried to do to her ID photo, she has a small downward nick where the fuzzy space is on the photo. Ok, moving on!
Yakat was most likely born around 1958, probably to A10, who was around 17 then. Around 1967, she gained a sister, A24 (Kelsey). For six years, it was just her, Kelsey, A10, and her uncle A4. Then in 1973, A10 had another calf, which died the same year.
The next year, Yakat had her own first calf. Yakat has had all her calves during the study, so we've seen her raise them all. This first calf, a female named Skagit (A35), survived and became the first evidence of Yakat's good mothering. In 1978, when Skagit was 4, Yakat had a male calf, Skeena (A13).
The next five years, Yakat busied herself watching over Skagit and Skeena. In 1981, Kelsey had her first calf, which died the same year.
Then in 1983, when Skeena was five, and Skagit was 9, tragedy struck. A10 had another calf, A47. The same year, A10 and A47 were shot at the Rubbing Beaches. They died that year.
It must've been so confusing for the sisters! Their mother and sibling dead, and both of them with new calves-Kelsey with Sutlej (A45) and Yakat with Siwiti (A48).
A year later, their uncle A4 died, and the two officially became co-matriarchs. At this point, they still formed one pod, consisting of the two of them, Skagit, Skeena, Sutlej and Siwiti. (think they have enough names starting with S?)In 1985, Kelsey had another calf which didn't last longer than a year.
The next year, the pod began to split. Kelsey and Sutlej went their way and Yakat took Skagit and Skeena and went another.
Yakat's family grew. In 1987, she beame a grandmother, with Skagit's first calf, Kiltik (A52). In 1990, she had her last calf, Nahwitti (A56), and in 1992, Skagit had another calf, Racey (A59).
In 1996, sadness hit Yakat's family. While Kelsey had lost 4 calves, Yakat and her children (and grand-children) had remained relatively death-free. But in 1996, Siwiti and her new calf, A65, both died.
Three years later, Skagit had Sunny (A70). The same year, Skagit and her children began to break off from her mother and form their own subpod. While they still spent most of their time with Yakat, they were becoming their own matriline.
The latest developements in Yakat's family are the new calves. In 2002, Kiltik had her first calf, A76, which died the same year. In 2003, Skagit had her latest calf, Roller (A77), and in 2004, both Kiltik and Racey had calves.
Now, Yakat's matriline consists of her, Skeena and Nahwitti. Nahwitti will probably have her own calves soon, but until then, Yakat doesn't exactly have a lack of grandchildren-she currently has 4...and two great-grandchildren! Recently, she has been baby-sitting Springer (A73), Kelsey's wayward granddaughter. She still spends much of her time with Kelsey and her family, and of course Skagit and her subpod return often.
In 2007, Yakat was around 49 years old; she was definitely over 40 because to have had Skagit in 1974, she would have had to have been born in 1963 at least! Yet, to the surprise of everyone, Yakat was spotted with a brand new baby in January! The little one seems healthy and playful. It's been 17 years since her last calf! The matriline now consists of Yakat, Skeena, Nahwitti, Springer and the calf.
She is now nearly 50 years old, and was assumed to be post-reproductive! Her identifying features are the nick in her fin and the distinctive open saddle that seems to be unique in her family. She is healthy and happy, and caring for Springer with the help of Nahwitti, and her new baby.