FOR THE ENVIRONMENT...Tell a Whale of a Tale

Every humpback whale tail is different. Though not as unique as human fingerprints, these “whaleprints” let researchers keep track of an endangered species.

Whale experts at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle Washington are using an advanced computerized photo matching technique for whale identification. A photo of a whale in the ocean is loaded into the computer. The software matches the lobes (flukes) of the whale’s tail (plus natural marks and scars) with photos in the database. This allows research groups in the North Pacific Ocean to keep track of the whales.

The software used to track whales was developed for NASA. Its original purpose, however, was to store data for analyzing Space Shuttle heat shield tiles. These tiles protect the Shuttle Orbiter from the heat generated re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere.