Stumpy X163
First Sighted: 1996 Estimated Birth year: 1995 Location: Tysfjord, Norway Sighted with Pods: NE15 / NR / NKW‐H / NKW‐V / NKW‐AZ
Why is she so important?: Stumpy is assumed to have been hit by a boat as a calf (under a year old) She has injuries to her dorsal, spinal deformity and injuries to her left side of her rib cage. It is possible she was born with some of these deformity’s.
Due to these disabilities, she is unable to dive or swim as fast as other killer whales, her growth is stunted as she is still (aged 20) the same size as a small calf. Also judging from the pitch of her blow - her lung capacity must be abnormally small. (Killer Whales with a Conscience 2013)
(Stumpy and a member of the NKW-AZ group) When she was first sighted in 1996 she was with her presumed mother. They were with the NE15 pod and neither were a previously sighted member of that pod.
(Stumpy in 1996) She was seven years old when she was re-sighted in 2002. Researchers were delighted to discover she had survived but were surprised to discover her mother had disappeared. She was then re-sighted over a period of three years with different pods (NKW-H/NKW-V) who were caring for her. A study published in 2004 (Stenerson & Similä) stated she had been sighted with a provisioned by no less than five groups.
(Stumpy being provisioned, a salmon was captured and bitten in half for her to eat) “ I observed her participating in the search of and catching of fish but she was seen often close to a big male, who may have been provisioning her or providing her with protection. “ - Heike Vester
(Stumpy in 2012) In 2012 she was sighted with the NKW‐AZ pod. She is now Seventeen years old and was confirmed a female as her dorsal had not sprouted.
If they’re even distantly related, helping Stumpy would mean protecting at least some of their own genes, even though it comes at quite a cost when fish are in short supply. This is why Stumpy is so important, they show the killer whales pro-social behavior. They are caring for her even though in most other animal society’s its survival of the fittest. Leave the weak to die as they are not able to sustain the species.
Physiological evidence supports this idea. In 2006, specialized ‘spindle’ cells previously thought unique to primates were found in Killer Whale brains. (Whale Brains). These cells are located in the area responsible for speech, social organisation and empathy, and are credited with allowing us to feel love.
“Maybe killer whales are even more similar to us than we suspected."
- Heike Vester
Featured in: Killer Whales Beneath the Surface, 2012 BBC
