Provided in the following web pages are identifying images and sighting records for individual whales. AWF has thousands of images and untold amounts of information to make available here. We are striving to put all of our information in a relational database that will automatically update with the web site. At this time, a limited number of profiles on key individuals in the Southeast Alaskan community are provided here. A more comprehensive set of profiles should be available in the near future.

How to Identify Humpback Whales. Humpback whales are most easily identified at this time by the profile, pattern of white coloration, and scars on the underside of the fluke (tail) and the shape of the dorsal fin. To the right, you can see a page from July 1994 in Fred Sharpe's "Whale Log"; it illustrates what sort of features are quickly and easily recorded for individual whales. In each profile, we will attempt to provide a definitive fluke picture and images of the dorsal fin from the left and the right viewpoints. If available, we will provide addional pictures of the fluke from other angles, in case this can help others match their fluke pictures to whales AWF has documented. In addition, we will provide information on the animals' sex, frequency of sighting, and other useful details.

Naming Humpback Whales. It is useful for scientists to bestow individual identifications on whales they see in their research sites. While some research groups prefer to use a numbering system for identifying whales, AWF founding board member Fred Sharpe used colorful names to identify whales, because it was easier to remember that the whale with two big white spots on his fluke is Snake Eyes instead of trying to remember that he is #08712/3(22). Some of the names in the AWF catalog are odd, and some creative spellings have been used. This is intentional.
    Because other marine mammal researchers in the world also encounter the whales we observe, we have an ongoing effort to highlight overlapping identities between our fluke ID catalog and other researchers' catalogs. We hope to eventually feature pseudonyms from research groups in Alaska, Hawaii, and possibly the west coast of the lower 48 states and Mexico. At this time, we can include pseudonyms published by our colleagues in Southeast Alaska. The reference for this catalog is:

    Straley, Janice M. and Christine M. Gabriele. (1998, second printing) Humpback Whales of Southeastern Alaska; a Catalog of Photographs. University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus. Sitka, Alaska.

This publication will be abbreviated as "S&G 1998" on AWF fluke profile pages.

We are also able to include pseudonyms from a catalog made by the National Marine Fisheries Service. The reference for this catalog is:

    A Catalogue of Humpback Whales of Alaska. Prepared by National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Mammal Laboratory, Seattle, Washington.

This publication will be abbreviated as "NMML 1994" on AWF fluke profile pages.