One of the questions we are frequently asked is “How are right whales given their names?”
While every right whale is assigned a four-digit number in the Right Whale Catalog, not all of them have names.
Once a year, a handful of unnamed whales are nominated by researchers for naming. The whales are either those that have a unique physical feature or have a strong story in connection to a community or habitat where they were seen. The primary purpose of naming a whale is to help researchers identify the individual on sight. Remembering that the whale with the scar that looks exactly like a “$” is named “Dollar” is easier than remembering that he is Catalog #1332.
Identifying a whale quickly helps researchers determine if the team needs to photograph the whale as per normal procedure, or collect better documentation for the catalog, look for remaining gear if it was previously entangled, collect a biopsy sample for genetics, or move on if the whale has already been seen that day.
Researchers, donors, school groups, members of the public–anyone at all–can propose names for the nominated whales as long as the names meet the criteria for a good name. Only members of the field teams, however, can vote, since they are the ones who need the name to be practical and easy to remember. For this reason, voters can also select the option of “no name” if they do not approve of any of the choices. Majority rules, and the results are presented at the Annual North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium Meeting.
This past November, the naming process was a success, and all 15 nominated whales were named!
Monica Pepe of the Whale & Dolphin Conservation assisted with writing this article.
Meet our newly named whales!
Gully (Catalog #4601)
Sex, age: Female, 4
Most distinct marking/reason for name: Gully has a scar that formed a gully on her head from being entangled.
Whales she associates with: Her mother
Likely locations she can be found: Gully summers in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Popcorn (Catalog #4194)
Sex, age: Male, 9
Most distinct marking/reason for name: People think the bits of callosity on his head look like popcorn.
Whales he associates with: Other whales at feeding time
Likely locations he can be found: Cape Cod Bay, where food can be found
Sebastian (Catalog #4650)
Sex, age: Male, 4
Reason for name: He is named after the inlet his mom, Clipper, took him to when he was really young.
Whales he associates with: Sebastian tends to be alone.
Likely locations he can be found: He has been seen in the Gulf of St. Lawrence the past two years.
Oakley (Catalog #3120)
Sex, age: Male, 19
Most distinct marking/reason for name: There is a rifle-looking white mark on his face that inspired people to name it after Annie Oakley.
Whales he associates with: Oakley tends to be near lots of whales, but is seen most often with Tux #3401.
Likely locations he can be found: Oakley visits the Great South Channel almost every year.
Gandalf (Catalog #2010)
Sex, age: Male, 30
Most distinct marking/reason for name: On the left side of its head, Gandalf has a long, thin white line that looks like a wizard’s staff (plus the whale is old and wise like Gandalf of the J.R.R. Tolkien novels).
Whales he associates with: Gandalf tends to associate with whales his own age.
Likely locations he can be found: Cape Cod Bay
Lone Star (Catalog #3620)
Sex, age: Male, 14
Most distinct marking/reason for name: His mother took him to Texas when he was a calf.
Whales he associates with: Younger whales, also Starry Night (#1028), Cassiopeia (#4041), and Orion (#3240)
Likely locations he can be found: Waters off the Florida-Georgia line
Cottontail (Catalog #3920)
Sex, age: Male, 11
Most distinct marking/reason for name: Cottontail’s callosity is shaped like the profile of a rabbit.
Whales he associates with: #4042, a male just one year younger than Cottontail
Likely locations he can be found: Cape Cod Bay
Peace (Catalog #1036)
Sex, age: Male, 50+
Most distinct marking/reason for name: Peace has a V-shaped scar that looks like a peace sign.
Whales he associates with: War (#1812)
Likely locations he can be found: Waters off New England and Canada
Owl (Catalog #1616)
Sex, age: Male, 34+
Most distinct marking/reason for name: People think Owl’s callosity looks like an owl perched on top of a tree.
Whales he associates with: Dropcloth (#1271)
Likely locations he can be found: Cape Cod Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence
Swan (Catalog #2340)
Sex, age: Male, 27+
Most distinct marking/reason for name: The outline of his white chin looks like the profile of a swan.
Whales he associates with: Bocce (#3860)
Likely locations he can be found: Cape Cod Bay
Nauset (Catalog #2413)
Sex, age: Female, 26
Most distinct marking/reason for name: People think Nauset’s callosity looks like a lighthouse, so she was named after the Nauset Lighthouse on Cape Cod.
Whales she associates with: Nantucket (#1971), Sagamore (#1934), and Salem (#3617) – other whales with New England names
Likely locations she can be found: Anywhere off the coast of New England
Mitosis (Catalog #2510)
Sex, age: Male, 25+
Most distinct marking/reason for name: Part of his callosity looks like cells dividing.
Whales he associates with: Magnet (#3808)
Likely locations he can be found: Recently in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
Arrow (Catalog #3290)
Sex, age: Female, 18
Most distinct marking/reason for name: Arrow’s callosity can form into the shape of an arrow.
Whales she associates with: #3629
Likely locations she can be found: Arrow is hard to pin down, but she has been seen in the Great South Channel.
Sundog (Catalog #3823)
Sex, age: Female, 12
Most distinct marking/reason for name: A bright round scar next to a part of Sundog’s callosity is like a sundog, a bright spot next to the sun.
Whales she associates with: She is usually alone, but will join other whales at feeding time.
Likely locations she can be found: Cape Cod Bay
Sickle (Catalog #3912)
Sex, age: Female, 11
Most distinct marking/reason for name: There is a sickle-shaped scar on her head.
Whales she associates with: Childhood companions were Nymph (#4020) and #3917.
Likely locations she can be found: She occasionally returns to the waters off the U.S. Southeast, where she was born.