Sightings Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Photo-ID Project Newsletter Fall 2018 |
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Photos taken under General Authorization, Letter of Confirmation No. 481-1759, MMPA/ESA Research Permit #14210 and #18016 . Do not reproduce without permission. |
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Happy Almost Fall! Greetings CIBW fans. With the daylight getting shorter and the leaves starting to turn, we are sadly nearing the end of summer. One positive outcome to this time of year is that the belugas are pretty easy to see right now. We are getting sighting reports up and down Turnagain Arm, near the Campbell Creek Estuary, and up in Knik Arm. Check out the 2018 sightings map to see where the belugas are being seen on our website, and get out there and see these wonderful animals for yourself (and report your sightings on our website). Thank you to everyone who has been reporting their sightings to us, keep up the good work and keep those reports and photographs coming in. The CIBW Photo-ID Project Team is still in full swing with our field season. We had some great encounters with belugas this summer along the Susitna River Delta and we are now expanding our surveys into Knik Arm, Eagle Bay, Chikaloon Bay, and Turnagain Arm. We hope to see you out there along the Seward Highway during one of our surveys or maybe you will bump into our friends at the Beluga Whale Alliance. They have an ongoing citizen science monitoring program along Turnagain Arm as well and have been reporting good beluga activity in the area. The CIBW Photo-ID Team will be at Bird Point on September 15, 2018 between 10 am and 1 pm for the Belugas Count Event! so come and join us. Check out the details below. Happy Beluga Viewing! The CIBW Photo-ID Project Team |
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2018 Belugas Count! September 15,2018 Join us for the 2018 Belugas Count! Event. This all-day event aims to bring together citizens to focus on the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale, fostering local pride, awareness, and stewardship. It is a collaboration between a variety of federal and state agencies, local and national organizations, as well as individuals. Any beluga whales counted will be entered into the Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Photo-ID Sightings map and the Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Ecosystem Portal which is used by Cook Inlet beluga managers and researchers to help assess location and abundance information. The CIBW Photo-ID team will be at the Bird Point Station between 10 am and 1 pm and we will also have a booth at the zoo from 1 pm and 5 pm. Stop by at either location and say hello. For more information on the 2018 Belugas Count! Event click on the button below. |
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| | Beluga Bits If you just can't get enough of watching belugas and want to help participate in citizen science of belugas in the Canadian Arctic then we highly recommend you check out the Beluga Bits project on Zooniverse. You can help scientists identify the age, sex, and group size of the Western Hudson Bay beluga population. The CIBW Photo-ID Project is jealous of the clear water these belugas are in and wish we could do a similar project here, but unfortunately we have the murky Cook Inlet waters to work with and can only photograph the whales at the surface. | | |
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| | Phys.org An interesting article about belugas and other toothed whales going through menopause was featured by phys.org this week. Only five species are known to go through menopause, and they are humans and some toothed whales. To read the article and find the link to the original paper click the button below. | | |
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Beluga in the Spotlight This issue's beluga in the spotlight is Wingnut. Wingnut was photographed by Anthony Madden Photography last weekend in Turnagain Arm. Not only did Anthony capture a great photo of Wingnut and her markings but he also captured her with a calf. This calf appears to be a young of the year calf (meaning it was born this year) because of its color, smooth skin, eye ring and the way it is swimming. Young calves tend to burst out of the water and show their heads more than older calves. Wingnut was first photographed by the CIBW Photo-ID Project in 2005 and has been photographed every year since then. She is classified as potential mother but this photograph with this calf now puts her in the presumed mother category. Thank you Anthony Madden Photography for sharing this photograph and thank you Beluga Whale Alliance and NOAA for making sure this photograph was shared with the CIBW Photo-Id Project. If anyone else out there has photos they want to share, we will happily take a look at them to see if we recognize the whales. The photo below is a right-side photograph of Wingnut and her calf taken by Anthony Madden Photography. |
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