Have you ever wanted to see a Blue whale; to hear it blow and smell its breathe?

Follow this sequence of photographs; observe, watch and wonder...

Variation in the markings on and shape of whale tail-flukes are often sufficiently
different between animals to be used to identify individuals. 
Here, we see a lot of Sperm whale tail-flukes and can testify that each differ,
some markedly. The photo mosaic illustrates some of the flukes we have seen.

Photo-identification of whale tail-flukes is a useful tool when studying whales.
Repeat observation of the same individuals allows us to track their movements and estimate
their age. This kind of information can be useful in scientific studies of their social
behaviour, habitat use, foraging behaviour, annual migrations and their survival.
If you want to find out more about photo-identification try following up these links:

http://azoresphotoid.blogspot.com/

http://europhlukes.maris2.nl/

http://www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/docs/Photo-IDGuidelines.pdf

http://virtualology.com/aquatichall/whalesperm.com/

http://www.leidenuniv.nl/cml/ssp/projects/namsc/namsc.html

Sometimes we encounter mature male Sperm whales. 
These animals are huge, often around 15m long or more. This afternoon we were lucky enough to see two surface and dive. 

 
Adult male Sperm whale surfacing (Physeter macrocephalus)

When one dived, pulling its great tail from the water, the worn condition of its flukes were clearly visible and perhaps revealed something of its great age (see below).

Adult male Sperm whale diving (Physeter macrocephalus)

A fluke-up of the second male we encountered (Physeter macrocephalus)