The HMMC is a Waimea-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2003.
The nonprofit Hawaii Marine Mammal Consortium has released of a glossy, full-color art poster of humpback whale tail fluke photographs. The poster illustrates the beauty of humpback whale flukes and how scientists use them to study whales.
Like human fingerprints, the shape, color, and markings on the tail flukes of humpback whales are unique to each whale. The poster shows 56 photographs of 53 different whales with a built-in “fluke matching” quiz to identify three whales that appear twice in the photos. The answers can be found at the HMMC website: www.hmmc.org.
Sightings of individually identified whales over the years help scientists to describe their social behavior, migrations, and life histories.
The website shows information about the sighting history of each whale and links to pages about whale biology and behavior. All photographs were taken under a NOAA Fisheries Scientific Research Permit.
The poster is available for $20 at Hawaii Ocean Sports and The Gallery at Bamboo Restaurant in Hawi. It is also available through the HMMC website. The purchase of the poster is tax deductible, and proceeds will directly support HMMC’s whale and dolphin research in Hawaii.
The HMMC is a Waimea-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2003.