#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Photos of humpback whales taken by tourists in Teriberka, Murmansk region, can help scientists study these animals and add to the database of encounters with new individuals that have not previously been captured on camera.
“This is an international project called Happy Whale, where everyone can post photos of humpback whale tails. And in Teriberka, there is an opportunity to meet whales that have never been seen anywhere before. And there have already been several unique encounters. There are more and more tourists in Teriberka, they take photos that can help study humpback whales”, Svetlana Artemyeva, a research fellow at the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told TASS.
The tail of each humpback whale is unique in its pattern and edging, so whales are easily distinguished by them. The photo should be taken at the location and date, the tail will be entered into the database, and it will be clear whether this is a unique encounter or a whale already familiar to researchers. If a humpback whale is photographed for the first time, the author of the photo can give it a name.
“The individual captured in the frame is assigned a unique ID, you can subscribe, and see where your whale has been seen before. If it has already been seen and the data is in this program, you can see where it has been seen, who has seen it before, all the locations where it has traveled”, the agency’s interlocutor explained.
Whales live a very long time, so the site has specimens that have been seen for more than 40 years. Humpback whales are common throughout the world’s oceans. At the same time, it is quite safe to photograph them, according to Artemyeva, these animals are distinguished by their peaceful nature, they are curious and not shy.
Earlier, This Is Taimyr reported that the humpback whale Stanislav was rescued in the Arctic with the Nornickel’s support.
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Text: Polina Bardik, Photo: Nikolay Shchipko
