...this long silence doesn't mean nothin's cooking!

We've been quiet over here in the mad science labs of Happywhale but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy and productive. In the North Pacific Ocean we've now documented over 30,100 individual humpback whales in over 180,000 identified encounters. This incredibly rich resource, with on average six encounters per individual and many individuals with long long documented histories, inspired a parallel and complementary study -- we are collaborating with Oregon State University and University of Alaska Southeast to link genetic samples with individual encounter histories, a depth of knowledge that directly ties into this social network project. With OSU's genetic work, we get to add sex determinations and in some cases, relatedness of individuals, which we can combine to see if these factors influence who individuals hang out with.

...so, more soon! We slipped off our expected project schedule but we feel it is well worth it because we've also added a super powerful element here incorporating genetics into the mix.

We'd like to dedicate this study to our beloved long-time friend Fran, the most well known humpback whale in California, who was killed by a ship strike in late August. Fran was the best known living whale in California, encountered every year except one since her birth in 2005. She had a calf, the first ever brought to California waters, who we hope will survive. We'll be on the lookout for Fran's calf, since we have a very good fluke photo of the little one.

 

The beautiful 17 year old "Fran" who was killed by ship strike in late August 2022. She is survived (we hope) by her 2022 calf, the first calf she brought to California in her too-short life. Photo: Douglas Croft