These Argentinian Scientists Have 48 Years Of Whale Family Photos

Dec 18, 2019, 01:50pm

Andrew Wight



Argentinian marine biologist Florencia Vilches showing her whale work.INSTITUTO DE CONSERVACIÓN DE BALLENAS


In the chilly waters off Argentina’s Valdes Peninsula, scientists and tourists have been taking photos of whales for nearly half a century – forming a unique and invaluable resource for biological research, conservation and education.

The Southern Right Whale population that uses these waters as a delivery room is significant because it has been studied continuously for longer than any other species of large whale in the world.

In 2015, according to Argentinian biologist, Florencia Vilches, a researcher at the Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas (ICB) and MCAF Fellow, tourism operators asked scientists if they could identify individual whales from whale-watching photos.

“They wanted to learn individual life histories to improve the stories they share with the 300,000 tourists who travel to Valdes each year to see the whales,” she said, “We replied, ‘Yes, absolutely!’ and they gave us copies of 460,000 whale photos they took between 2003 and 2016.”

More:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewwight/2019/12/18/these-argentinian-scientists--have-48-years-of-whale-family-photos/#43e91ab1ec78

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