![]() ![]() ![]() "If we have good photos of the identifying features of the animals, that can actually be contributed to research across a range of databases so that we do actually know more about what we have," she said. Usually when a whale is spotted, someone is around with a camera and Mrs Alexander said good photos were important. "But anybody who knows what to look for can be part of that research and knowing what you are looking at should also enhance people's enjoyment of their sightings." "So it is very difficult to be able to find them and to be able to be with them for long enough to study. Although a blue whale has a larger mouth at 20 feet, it does not have true teeth and it has a small throat of only 4 to 8 inches. Megalodons’ swim speed, though, is 3.1 mph (5 kph), slower than a blue whale’s. "If you are a researcher, whales are pretty mobile and for these guys it is nothing to travel 6,000 kilometres one way when migrating," she said. Megalodons are estimated to have a biting power of 108,000 to 180,000 Newtons. Mrs Alexander said anyone could contribute to whale research once they knew what to look for. "Southern rights have a fairly distinct V shape to the blow but it is best to actually see a part of the animal's body." Citizen science is vital for research Humpbacks and southern right whales also have a unique blow or spray but Mrs Alexander said she did not rely on that feature as it was often too windy. They were slender and streamlined compared to southern rights and humpbacks, she said.Ī single ridge on the top of their head leads back to a blowhole with a prominent 'splashguard'. ![]() Mrs Alexander said identifying a blue whale was easy as they were "just so big". "They have a tiny dorsal fin as well, about two thirds of the way down their back, and a very mottled pattern on their side."īlue whales can grow up to 30 metres long with the pygmy blue whale species reaching about 25m in length. "When they are actually slightly submerged under the water they are that beautiful aqua colour that we see. ![]()
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