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December 2023 Individuals
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"Baja Nicki"
-Baja Nicki: First documented by me in September 2018 off Newport Beach. Also documented by us in July 2019 off San Clemente by Mark Girardeau, and in August 2021 off Northern Baja by me. Named for her lower (baja) dorsal fin nick.
"Ana"
-Ana: This whale has a very clean and indistinct dorsal, but I matched her via eyepatch to both my 2018 encounter off Newport Beach and my August 2021 encounter off Northern Baja. In my five December sightings she has been seen in close association with Baja Nicki, Top Notch, Coronado and Cookie. She was among this group of whales I sighted near Anacapa Island on December 15 2023, which may have been only the second time ETPs have been documented to visit the Santa Barbara Channel. She’s named Ana as a derivative of Anacapa.
"Cookie"
-Cookie: I documented this young calf nursing off Top Notch via drone on December 18th 2023. Named for a prominent and fresh cookie cutter shark bite on its side, behind and below the dorsal. Cookie was seen in very close association with their presumed mother for the entirety of my 5 days of encounters.
"Coronado"
Confirmed to be male via my drone footage of his underside. He’s a couple years old and was much smaller and hanging very close to Top Notch in my August 2021 encounter. In my recent sightings he’s independent but was traveling in close association with Top Notch and her recent calf, Cookie.
"Tersa"
Another whale with a dorsal that has no obvious characteristics. But we recognize her distinct eyepatches from our September 2018 ETP encounter off Newport Beach! She was smaller then, and in 5 years has grown significantly.
"Top Notch"
-Top Notch: I saw her in September 2018 off Newport Beach, and August 2021 off Northern Baja. She’s the confirmed mother of Cookie, and probable mother of Coronado. She has a small notch missing from the trailing edge in the top half of her dorsal.
HW-OO05ETP-0019
She’s a large female, and her dorsal fin has some subtle character. There’s a small scoop/dent 1/3 of the way up from the base of the fin. Was recently observed in tight company with -0018, -0024, and -0023.
HW-OO05ETP-0018
-0018 seems to be on the smaller side, and has a right eye patch with three distinct divots on the leading edge. There’s also a very subtle dent mid-dorsal. Was recently observed in tight company with -0019, -0023, and -0024.
-HW-OO05ETP-0023
This whale is a young calf, simliar in size to Cookie. It has some tooth rake marks on its left side behind the dorsal fin. Its mother could be -0024, -0019 or -0018 as they all traveled close together.
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