Etch-a-Sketch

[Snakelover]

I took this picture on a little whale watching excursion that Mindy, my mom, my daughter and I took out of Boston earlier this month.




Nothing too special about the picture. But what I did think was neat and wanted to share with you guys is that someone saw this picture on my Flickr photostream and was able to identify this particular humpback whale as a 10 year old female named Etch-a-Sketch by the pattern on the bottom of her fluke.

Here are some links to pictures that other people took of this same whale...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ah_kopelman/3502969920/

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/22405120@N08/2836392211

http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw_united_states/join_campaigns/animal_action_week/adopt_a_whale/etch-a-sketch.php

http://www.gloucesterwhalewatching.com/WSU09%205-14-09.html

That flickr community can be pretty handy sometimes!

[Bill M]

That is pretty cool David. Did she run away from you and give you no more opportunities? What is the orange glow?

[SKLOSS]

wow what a small world!!

[Shane]

That's pretty cool.

[Snakelover]

That is pretty cool David. Did she run away from you and give you no more opportunities? What is the orange glow?

Bill, I got quite a few pictures of her as well as of other whales. But mostly of their backs, not flukes. They can only be identified by the bottom of the fluke which usually only shows right before they dive. And, of course, you have to be at the right angle to see it as well. As a result, I only got two pictures of the bottom of flukes. I asked the group that identified Etch-A-Sketch to look at my other fluke picture (which is a different whale), but I haven't heard back yet. The orange is the color of the sunset reflecting off the white surfaces of the fluke.

[Snakelover]

The only other ventral fluke picture I got...



Some other whale pics. All humpbacks.

Spouting...



Cow and calf...



Pretty close to the boat...



Cows sometimes wave their flippers in the air and then slap them against the surface of the water. Some think it's to call their calves closer.

[Big Spec]

very nice, pretty neat to catch that photo and identify her.

[Wildman]

So there are more fish in the sea, but some are more special than others?

[Hawg]

That's cool! It looks like y'all had calm seas. I took a whale watching tour out of Provincetown several years ago. The seas were almost too rough for the ship to go, but we got out there...and it was rough. Luckily I didn't get seasick.

[AggieHunter]

Thats awesome! Are humpback populations so low that they need monitoring this close, or are there just groups of people that follow certain groups?

[Snakelover]

Thats awesome! Are humpback populations so low that they need monitoring this close, or are there just groups of people that follow certain groups?

I think it's mainly just that a lot of people are interested in humpback whales, both marine biologists and whale watchers. I was reading that the North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalog has over 6,000 whales listed with fluke photographs. Each has a number assigned to it and most have names as well. For instance, Etch-A-Sketch is HWC#8484. Since the calves stay with the cow for a while, they even have the maternal side of some of the family trees mapped out. For instance, Etch-A-Sketch's mom is named Thalassa and her grandmother is named Salt.

[WyoBull]

That is definitely a timing shot, nice job!

[AgHntr10]

thats pretty neat

[Snakelover]

Oops! I edited the picture and it fouled up the link. Here's the edited version...

[Snapper]

Awesome! Great pictures David.