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Goodbye to our humpback whale field season 2013

9/27/2013

1 Comment

 
This year was a smashing success! We were able to spend 28 days on the water and surveyed approximately 1400 miles (2200 km) mostly around the Islas Secas, but also near the Islas Paridas, Ladrones, and Contreras, all within the Gulf of Chiriquí. 

We had 204 sightings of humpback whale groups which included a total of 455 whales and 91 calves. (In comparison, 2012 was our previous best year and we sighted a total of 277 whales that year). We photographically identified whales on 144 occasions; however the number of individuals identified will be lower since we repeatedly saw some of the same whales. We expect to have around 100 individuals identified once all of the photographs have been processed.

We were also thrilled to sight a Bryde’s whale near the Islas Contreras in addition to the usual sightings of many spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. False killer whales were also sighted in our study area.

I'm afraid my blog this year may have given the impression that being a whale scientist is all about watching whales leap out of the water and taking pretty pictures in a beautiful tropical setting. Well, now that the field work is over and the equipment has been cleaned and put away the real fun begins! We will spend many months processing literally thousands of photographs, entering data, and making maps and tables representing all the data collected. The field work becomes a distant memory as we toil in front of a computer screen. Luckily, looking at the pictures always brings us back to the lovely days we spent in the field. Here are some of our favorite photos from this year that we will look at over and over to remind us of a GREAT field season!

Many thanks to the Moore Charitable Foundation, The Islas Secas, and private donors for making this year happen!

Picture
A calf breaches near an escort
Picture
The escort then breaches near the calf (to the left of the escort)
Picture
Picture
A curious calf looks directly at us
Picture
Waving pectoral fin
Picture
Another beautiful morning leaving the dock
1 Comment
Tete Arauz
9/27/2013 09:35:34 am

Gratitute for all you efforts and contributions for Panamenias to actually appreciate such an espectacle right on our backyard

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  • Panacetacea
  • Who we are
    • Research Team
    • Students
    • Colleagues
    • Cooperation
    • Gallery
  • Blog
    • Humpback Whales 2022
    • Humpback Whales 2021
    • Humpback Whales Summer 2019
    • Humpback Whales Summer 2018
    • Humpback Whale Winter 2018
    • Humpback Whales 2017
    • Humpback Blog 2015
    • Humpback Blog 2014
    • BlogBocasDolphin 2014
    • Summer 2013 Blog
    • Summer 2012Blog
  • Programs
    • Monitoring Program >
      • Humpback Whale Project
      • Dolphins of Bocas del Toro Project
      • Dolphins of Changuinola & Gandoca Project
      • Dolphins of Gulf of Chiriqui Project
      • Cetaceans of Iguana Island Project
      • Central American Marine Biodiversity Acoustic Surveillance Network
      • Stranding and Rescue Network
    • Education and Outreach Program >
      • Education >
        • Internships
      • Outreach
    • Ocean Science Program >
      • Whale-Watching
      • Bocas Study Case
      • Research Permits and Whale-Watching Licenses
  • Donors & Grants
  • Small Grants Program
  • How to help
  • Documents
    • Peer Reviewed Publications
    • Documents for the Public
  • News
  • Store
  • Contact us