Humpback in Polar Darkness / Knølhval i Svart-Hvitt

 

 

 

 

 

 

Humpback Whale Photo-ID project / Knølhval Foto-Identifikasjon Database

The Norwegian spring-spawning herring returned to the coasts of Northern Norway in October/November and with the herring, the humpback whales have come back again!

As part of my project on establishing a Photo-Identification Data-Base of humpbacks in Northern Norway, I have been out at sea to try to collect as many fluke-pictures as possible. All whales have unique patterns on the underside of the flukes (see photo) and not two humpbacks look the same.

By using photos of the flukes as a fingerprint makes it possible to identify individual whales and follow their migrations over the world. In this way, it has been shown that "Norwegian" humpbacks may travel all the way to the West-Indies and the Carribean, some 8000km one-way trip!

Each fluke is unique !

To help finding out more about the biology and the migrations of humpbacks in Norway, I would be very happy to hear from you if you have seen and photographed humpback whales. Maybe it is you that have the pictures leading to a new discovery about humpbacks?

Please contact me at: norwayhumpbacks@gmail.com

WANTED: Humpback / Knølhval - Photos

For more information (in Norwegian) click the following link to an article about the Photo-ID project made after a photo-trip with my friend and colleague Espen Bergersen: Naturgalleriet

Beginning of Polar Darkness

Today the Sun climbed above the horizon for the last time in 2012 here in Tromsø in northern Norway....

....but the polar darkness is far from dark !

This is what the sky looked like yesterday, marking the beginning of the most beautiful time of the year.