Sperm whale individuals can be identified from the natural markings along the edge of their flukes. These markings are permanent and therefore allow us to study individually known whales. Identification pictures taken of sperm whales interacting with the long line fishery enable us to study how wide spread this behavior is in the population (number of individuals involved), as well as how this behavior might spread in the population through learning.
Examples of
different types of markings used in identifying sperm whales © Elisabeth Støhle
Rødland
We are grateful for fishermen for
helping us getting these images and pictures taken from fishing
vessels and the whale watching boat operating from Stø (Arctic Whale
Tours) form valuable baseline data for our project.
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