the world's rarest whale
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Blips
My name is Blips, let’s get that out of the way. Weird name but all-around average whale. I like a quiet ocean and spending time at the thermocline feeding on plankton. Compliment my callosities if you want to get on my good side. Looking for something serious but you must know that Primero is my… well…Primero.
Favorite activity:
Fun fact:
Breaching and hanging with my bestie Primero
When the plane called in the sighting, they said "continuous callosity with lips" but it was recorded as "velocities with blips." And that's how I got my name.
To support Blips, head on over to The Ocean Foundation, where we collect our donations.
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notchy
Just your average whale that loves a long swim. Trying to meet someone down to earth that likes to travel. Who’s looking to join me on a tropical getaway? I promise I won’t get us lost on the way.
Favorite activity:
Fun fact:
Swimming from my winter home in Hawaii to my summer home in Alaska
Notchy was the first whale to be seen in northern and southern waters. They were seen in Hawaii in April 1996, and then again in Alaska 4 months later.
To support Notchy, head on over to The Ocean Foundation, where we collect our donations.
spot
Not to put you on the “spot” but you may have heard my song once or twice. An up-call followed by six gunshots… that’s right that was me, the pop star of the Bering Sea. And if you’ve seen the NOAA right whale catalog you know I also have a modeling career. Can you “spot” a renaissance whale when you see one?
Favorite activity:
nm
Fun fact:
Posing for the researcher’s camera
He's named for the white spot on his tail!
To support Spot, head on over to The Ocean Foundation, where we collect our donations.
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phoenix
Phoenix is a little young for the whole whale-dating-profile joke. But his young age is evidence of other North Pacific right whales having successful dating profiles, something there has been little evidence of in the past few decades.
Favorite activity:
Fun fact:
Boosting morale
Phoenix was found in 2017 and was the first young whale to be spotted since 2005. He gives us hope that the population might recover!
To support Phoenix, head on over to The Ocean Foundation, where we collect our donations.
smudgy
I’ve been spending too much time at Albatross Bank these past few years, just putting back copepods to bulk up for Log-soccer season. But maybe there is more to life than pushing logs around the North Pacific? Hoping to find some new friends and have new experiences.
Favorite activity:
Fun fact:
Log-soccer. Smudgy is the best player in this up-and-coming sport.
She was seen in 2009 playing with the log at her nose.
To support Smudgy, head on over to The Ocean Foundation, where we collect our donations.
cuatro
Let’s be real. You’d think with the male bias in our population it would be easy to meet a nice guy. But I feel like I’ve been swimming in circles around our critical habitat and coming up with empty ocean. I am thankful for my friends Spot and Smudgy but I am looking for more out of life. Maybe a whale from the Western Pacific population will read this? I am not averse to a long-distance romance.
Favorite activity:
Fun fact:
Playing hide-n-seek with Spot and Smudgy
She was named for the four callosities on the side of her head
To support Cuatro, head on over to The Ocean Foundation, where we collect our donations.
Primero
TBH I don’t really have a lot of time for this sort of dating thing, just dipping my fin in the water as they say. Most of my time is spent trying to convince Blips to start the first North Pacific right whale acapella group.
Favorite activity:
Fun fact:
Singing and chatting with my friend Blips
Primero was the first whale to be tagged in a study in 2007 to track their locations. His tag transmitted for 58 days.
To support Primero, head on over to The Ocean Foundation, where we collect our donations.
Photo credits to B Rone (NOAA, 2009) for Blips, Cuatro, Primero, Smudgy, and Spot; J Crance (IWC, 2017) for Notchy; and K Matsuoka (IWC, 2017) for Phoenix.