OLDEST IDENTIFIED HUMPBACK SEEN IN THE BAY IN 2007 AND 2015
Humpback whales have been very frequent visitors in Skjálfandi Bay. They are magnificent animals and witnessing a humpback taking a dive and raising its fluke out of the water is amazing. But the fluke is more than just beauty, it can give researchers valuable information as each fluke is unique - just like our fingerprints.
On the underside of the fluke, humpbacks have a black/white pattern and no two humpbacks have the same one. It is therefore easy to identify them by taking photos of the flukes, through so-called photo identification. Often we have seen humpbacks returning to Skjálfandi Bay year after year, and the crew can easily identify and get to know them.
The Húsavík Research Centre, including our guide and researcher Charla, have now discovered that one of the humpbacks which was spotted in the bay in spring 2015 was also seen in 2007 and first documented that year. From the humpbacks identified last season, this individual has the oldest sighting record and it is very interesting to know that the whale returned after all those years.
We hope that this humpback along with many others will continue to visit Skjálfandi Bay in the future!
The humpback whale spotted in Skjálfandi Bay 2007 and 2015. Photos: Isa Marx / Húsavík Research Centre.