A Whale With A History:
Sighting Twain The Humpback Over Three Decades

James P. Crutchfield and Alexandra M. Jurgens

Complexity Sciences Center
Physics Department
University of California at Davis
Davis, CA 95616

J. M Staley

College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
University of Alaska Southeast, Sitka Campus
Sitka, Alaska 99835

T. Cheeseman

Marine Ecology Research Centre
Southern Cross University, Lismore
New South Wales, Australia

ABSTRACT: Extended acoustic interactions with a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) were captured via playbacks of the purported “throp” social call and hydrophone recordings of the animal's vocalized responses during August 2021 in Frederick Sound, Southeast Alaska. Fluke photographs identified the animal as a female named Twain (HappyWhale.com identity SEAK-0401) first observed some 38 years ago. We document Twain's life history via sightings made over almost four decades. The observational history gives illuminating snapshots of the long history of the individual behind the acoustic interactions.

James P. Crutchfieldand Alexandra M. Jurgens, “A Whale With A History: Sighting Twain The Humpback Over Three Decades” (2022).
doi:.
[pdf].
bioRxiv.org: 10.1101/2022.10.07.511372.