Photographic Reidentification of a Bowhead Whale in Davis Strait

• Published in: ARCTIC
• Main Authors: Heide-Jørgensen, M.P., Finley, K.J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Arctic Institute of North America 1991
• Subjects: Aerial photography; Animal distribution; Animal migration; Animal population; Animal taxonomy; Bowhead whales; Photography; Isabella Bay; Nunavut; Baffin Bay; Baffin Island; Baie de Baffin; Détroit de Davis; Greenland; Arctic; Baffin; Balaena mysticetus; bowhead whale; Davis Strait
• Online Access: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/64600

An adult bowhead whale photographed at Isabella Bay, Baffin Island, on 28 September 1986 was reidentified from a photograph taken off West Greenland on 10 April 1990. The "recapture" distance was about 460 km across Davis Strait. The recapture is consistent with historical knowledge of the seasonal distribution of bowhead whales and is supportive of the hypothesis that bowheads circulate within the Baffin Bay - Davis Strait area as part of a discrete stock.Key words: Balaena mysticetus, seasonal distribution, stock discreteness, Baffin Bay - Davis Strait, photographic identification Mots clés: Balaena mysticetus, répartition saisonnière, différenciation du groupe, baie de Baffin-détroit de Davis, identification par cliché