Volunteers Help Identify and Track Whales
Written by Jim Hain
A mother and calf right whale, Eubalaena glacialis, were
sighted just south of the St. Augustine lighthouse on
January 18, and just south of the Flagler Beach pier on
January 19. The calf is a newborn this season, and is
probably two to four weeks old in this picture. The
callosity patterns on the "nose" of the mother enabled
scientists to identify her as # 1268. She was first sighted
in 1979, and had calves in 1979, 1982, and 1995. This is
her fourth known calf. The sighting was initially made on
January 18 by the Florida Marine Research Institute and
relayed by the MRC to colleagues with the Marineland
group. The next morning at 7:08 a.m., volunteer Frank
Gromling sighted the pair from the back deck of his
home in Beverly Beach. The position was relayed by
MRC to scientists aboard the Fujifilm blimp. The result of
this collaboration was successful photo-identification and
tracking of southward movement over several days.
(Photograph by J. Hain)
Next article: Marineland Makes Vital Contribution
Table of content
|
