Sperm Whale Scale

A sperm whale live stranded and died at Porth Neigwl, Ceredigion over the weekend. A CSIP team from @ZSLScience are travelling to site today to conduct a field necropsy- highly unusual stranding, only the second sperm whale recorded in Wales over the last century.

Another #conference , this time in Sao Miguel, #Azores! All 3 co-founders @AbbarFadia , Laura Gonzalez, Lorenzo Fiori and team member Sean O'Callaghan @spermwhalescale of #azoresdelphisproject will be presenting with the theme of improving #science with #whalewatching.

Very nice to have the opportunity to present some results on Norwegian sperm whales using historic whaling data at the 34th European Cetacean Society in O Grove, Galicia, Spain yesterday from work done for my PhD #ECS2023 @MfrcATU @joanneob5 @MartinGammell @SpermWhaleScale

This past week has been a great one for fieldwork in the north while out with Whale2Sea / @UiTNorgesarktis. This whales fluke waterfall is only equalled by the spectacular snow covered backdrop of Andøya Island! #SpermWhaleScale #spermwhale #fieldwork #research #PhD

Reading the right book at the right time can lead you down on unexpected paths! @philipwhale 's classic book Leviathan, or the whale helped to hook me on sperm whales back in 2009 after seeing stranded sperms in SW Ireland but then I got to go on and work in the Azores in 2017!

As today is World Whale Day, we took a dive into our collection and found this illustration of a sperm whale from the Histoire Naturelle des Cétacés by Cuvier, 1836

For the day thats in it, a sperm going deep off Norway last summer! #WorldWhaleDay

Huge thanks to Lisa for making the match and teachers from Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada for keeping an eye on the whale and providing updates too along with @IWDGnews for flagging the stranding. #SpermWhaleScale #Spermwhale #photoidentification #fieldwork #research #PhD

Sperm whales are difficult to physically access off Ireland because they are so far from shore but when they strand you can get a glimpse into how they use our waters. While sad to see him ashore, he has made a significant contribution to our Irish understanding of sperm whales

First sperm whale match between Ireland and the Azores!!! The stranded whale at Arranmore in Donegal last month was identified by Lisa Steiner from Whale Watch Azores as "2811" who was last seen off Faial Island on 24th September 2004!

Interestingly his head and some parts of the body were dotted with sizeable squid sucker marks (some had ripped sections of blubber off!).

The sea had battered the carcass against the rocks at the whales head which lost its shape as the animals skull had fallen out with other bones. The skin was also sliding off the blubber giving him a white 'Moby Dick' like appearance.

This male sperm whale came ashore on Arranmore Island in Donegal, Ireland over a week ago. It's always a pity seeing a stranded individual but it also gives a heat opportunity to get an insight into the animals life #SpermWhaleScale #spermwhale #Ireland #fieldwork #PhD

A sperm whale on the way up for air during the midnight sun off Northern Norway. 24hr daylight made for a very memorable fieldwork setting! #SpermWhaleScale #spermwhale #Norway #fieldwork #PhD

🐋❄️#Winterwatch ‘Moby’ the 40ft Sperm Whale was ~44 years old when he stranded on the foreshore at Airth, in March 1997. Following his death, Moby’s skeleton was prepared by museum staff. He's now part of one of the largest marine mammal collections in the world. 🧵[1/4]

A sperm whale deep diving off Norway during the summer. The sea was bumpy but the light was nice to see the finer details of his fluke! #SpermWhaleScale #spermwhale #fieldwork #phdlife #Norway

Feeling like eavesdropping on majestic animals? 🐳 Want to know what I've been up to during my #PhD?👩🏽‍🎓 Please join us online tomorrow 👉🏽tinyurl.com/MFRCtalkCynthia👈🏽 at 2 p.m. *GMT* 🧑🏾‍🤝‍🧑🏽All about fantastic beasts and where to find them with a bit of #statistics and #modelling magic😉🔮

Fascinating paper: Historical whaling impacts sperm whales long after whaling ends, including due to social disruption. Now other anthropogenic pressures have taken over & some pops are likely still declining nature.com/articles/s4159….