A photo catalog of humpback whales, living near the shores of the Chukchi Peninsula in the summer-autumn period, has been first compiled by the specialists of the Biological Faculty at the Lomonosov Moscow State University.

The catalog presents 74 unique images of the humpbacks’ flukes shot by specialists in August-September 2017 in the water area of ​​the Senyavin Strait within the borders of the national park Beringia.

The lower side of the fluke and its rear edge are individual in each and every humpback whale, just like fingerprints in humans. According to these signs, scientists distinguish whales from one another.

Photo catalogs are databases that enable scientists to track the life of an individual animal. Due to this information, it is possible to study the migration routes, as well as feeding areas and clusters of whales.