Scientists at the New England Aquarium announced Monday the names of 20 North Atlantic right whales. Every right whale in the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog has a number assigned to it, and many also have names that help scientists more easily recognize the whales when they see them during fieldwork.According to a report in October, there are only 372 North Atlantic right whales left in the wild, though this past season was good for whale calves, and there was a slight increase from last year. The species remains critically endangered.The naming process involves submissions from North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium members and various research organizations, who then vote. The names are intended to relate to easily recognizable features or facts about each whale."Researchers who identify right whales in the field benefit from whales having recognizable names," Amy Warren, an assistant research scientist in the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium, said. "Throughout the naming process, the scientists' stories from past sightings tend to come out. It's a fun bonus for all of us to feel connected to the research community members who spend time on and over the water."The 2024 group of whales named includes:"Polaris" (Catalog #3350), a 21-year-old male who is named for his large white scar on the left side of his head that is bright like the north star"WALL-E" (Catalog #5104), a male who has a callosity (patches of raised tissue) that looks just like the lovable Pixar character WALL-E and the little white scar behind the right postblow is his friend in the movie, EVE"Hammer" (Catalog #2406), a 30-year-old male, is named for part of his callosity that looks like a hammer with a long handle"Swallowtail" (Catalog #3725) received a family name since her mom's name is Butterfly, and her broken lip callosity resembles a swallowtail butterfly's tail"Frisbee" (Catalog #3980), Boomerang's daughter, was named for a small scar on her head that looks like a frisbee"Salsa" (Catalog #2201), is a 32-year-old male named because his callosity looks like that of a whale named Havana (Catalog #3460) but its mirror image. Salsa, a dance that is an integral part of Cuban culture and society, and Havana is the capital of Cuba. The letter L in "Salsa" also notes the bit of callosity that's on the left side of the whale's head"Periscope" (Catalog #2713), is a 27-year-old male who is named because the upper part of his callosity pattern is shaped like a periscope"Horseshoe" (Catalog #2770) is a male who is at least 28 years old and is named because part of his callosity has peaky U-shaped patterns, like horseshoes"Peter Rabbit" (Catalog #2920) is a male who is at least 25 years old and is named because the front part of his callosity is shaped like the character Peter Rabbit"Granite" (Catalog #3194) is a 27-year-old female who is named because the first sighting of her was off the coast of New Hampshire, the Granite State"Illex" (Catalog #3570) is a 19-year-old male who is named because the front part of his callosity is shaped like a shortfin squid (Illex illecebrosus)"Burl" (Catalog #3579) is a 19-year-old male named because the bumps on both sides of his callosity pattern are very pronounced and obvious, like the knobby growths on trees called burls"Eternity" (Catalog #3650) is an 18-year-old female who is named because the right side of her callosity has a feature that is shaped like the infinity symbol. There is already a similar-looking whale named Infinity; eternity is another word for it"Hopscotch" (Catalog #3820) is a 16-year-old female named because the small bits of callosity around her head are arranged like a hopscotch playground game. She had her first calf earlier this year"Kilo" (Catalog #4143) is a 13-year-old male named because the scars on the left side of his head are "dash-dot-dash," which is a K in Morse code. K = Kilo in the phonetic alphabet"Rill" (Catalog #4446) is a 10-year-old male who is named because the deep entanglement scar embedded in his coaming is like the whale named Gully (Catalog #4601), but not quite as deep. A rill is a small gully"Tally" (Catalog #4612) is an 8-year-old female named because the scars behind her blow holes look like tally marks"Atoll" (Catalog #4714) is a 7-year-old female named because the small bits of callosity on her head are like a chain of islands, just like her mother Tripelago's (Catalog #2614)"Cremini" (Catalog #4917) is a 5-year-old female named because the front part of her callosity looks like a common capped mushroom, which is sometimes called a cremini mushroom"Dumpling" (Catalog #4970) is a 5-year-old female who is named because one of the clumps of callosity on her head looks like a dumpling"During WDC's education program, which features a life-sized inflatable North Atlantic right whale named Delilah, students draw callosities and create names for their whale," Caroline Mowdy, Communications Specialist at Whale and Dolphin Conservation - North America, said. "Now we have another group of named right whales to inspire kids in the classroom about conservation."
Scientists at the New England Aquarium announced Monday the names of 20 North Atlantic right whales.
Every right whale in the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog has a number assigned to it, and many also have names that help scientists more easily recognize the whales when they see them during fieldwork.
According to a report in October, there are only 372 North Atlantic right whales left in the wild, though this past season was good for whale calves, and there was a slight increase from last year. The species remains critically endangered.
The naming process involves submissions from North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium members and various research organizations, who then vote. The names are intended to relate to easily recognizable features or facts about each whale.
"Researchers who identify right whales in the field benefit from whales having recognizable names," Amy Warren, an assistant research scientist in the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium, said. "Throughout the naming process, the scientists' stories from past sightings tend to come out. It's a fun bonus for all of us to feel connected to the research community members who spend time on and over the water."
The 2024 group of whales named includes:
"During WDC's education program, which features a life-sized inflatable North Atlantic right whale named Delilah, students draw callosities and create names for their whale," Caroline Mowdy, Communications Specialist at Whale and Dolphin Conservation - North America, said. "Now we have another group of named right whales to inspire kids in the classroom about conservation."