Mathematical Whale?
Humpback whales are identified by the markings on their flukes ... or, what most people call the tail. This one clearly has a "P" and an "i" on its left fluke. The "i" even has a dot over it! So, this one is Pi ... or 3.14, if you like. :-) Or, as in the movie, Life of Pi, maybe it's short for Piscine and it's identifying with it's fishy cousins. Or, since it's most likely chasing after those tiny fish, capelin, here, maybe it's advertising that it's a Piscine eater ... or, Pi eater. :-) Sorry. :-) Or, maybe it's just telling us it went to 'school'. Ok. I'll stop now.
There were two of these whales here, but I wasn't quick enough to photograph the tail of the second one. They were spotted from the Apollo, the Newfoundland-Labrador ferry which runs from St. Barbe in Newfoundland to Blanc Sablon, Quebec. We were almost in the harbor of Blanc Sablon when they were spotted and, by the time I got outside on the deck to shoot them, they were quickly disappearing beneath the surface.
This is definitely not as good as some of the whale photos I have here on Flickr, but I decided to upload it because it might be of interest to anyone who studies whales.
Mathematical Whale?
Humpback whales are identified by the markings on their flukes ... or, what most people call the tail. This one clearly has a "P" and an "i" on its left fluke. The "i" even has a dot over it! So, this one is Pi ... or 3.14, if you like. :-) Or, as in the movie, Life of Pi, maybe it's short for Piscine and it's identifying with it's fishy cousins. Or, since it's most likely chasing after those tiny fish, capelin, here, maybe it's advertising that it's a Piscine eater ... or, Pi eater. :-) Sorry. :-) Or, maybe it's just telling us it went to 'school'. Ok. I'll stop now.
There were two of these whales here, but I wasn't quick enough to photograph the tail of the second one. They were spotted from the Apollo, the Newfoundland-Labrador ferry which runs from St. Barbe in Newfoundland to Blanc Sablon, Quebec. We were almost in the harbor of Blanc Sablon when they were spotted and, by the time I got outside on the deck to shoot them, they were quickly disappearing beneath the surface.
This is definitely not as good as some of the whale photos I have here on Flickr, but I decided to upload it because it might be of interest to anyone who studies whales.