Famous cetaceans: the individuals that left their mark on history

Since the 1970s, cetacean researchers have practised individual identification from distinctive marks: the unique patterns of the flukes (tail), the shape and notches of dorsal fins, scars, pigmentation patches. This technique has turned cetology into a science of the individual and has revealed social behaviours, cultures and matrilineal bonds that sometimes span more than 100 years.

Why name cetaceans?

Individual identification of cetaceans rests on distinctive marks: the shape and notches of the dorsal fin, the pattern of the flukes, scars. Since the 1970s, researchers have been building photo catalogues. Some individuals have become global icons.

Further reading

See also the encyclopaedia of cetacean researchers, the interactive anatomy of a cetacean, or explore the IUCN database of the 78 cetacean species to understand the conservation issues surrounding these emblematic individuals.

Photo-identification: how each individual is recognised

Photo-identification, developed in the 1970s by Roger Payne (right whales) and the Center for Whale Research (killer whales), is the cornerstone of individual monitoring of cetaceans. In the humpback whale it is the ventral side of the fluke (tail) that serves as a unique fingerprint; in the killer whale, the grey posterior patch (saddle patch) and the scarring of the dorsal fin.

Today, platforms such as Happywhale and OBIS-SEAMAP (Duke University) pool photographs worldwide, with recognition assisted by artificial intelligence. This makes it possible to retrace the migration routes of Migaloo (the white humpback whale of Australia), the ordeals of J pod among the Southern Residents (Tahlequah and her calf, carried for 17 days in 2018) or the returns of Springer, the only killer whale to have been successfully rehabilitated.