1999 Naming Conference

Each year all of the researchers in the Gulf of Maine meet to decide on names for all of the new humpback whales seen the previous season. This year, there were upward of 70 whales to name including 47 calves and 27 other whales. As one might imagine, after naming over 2000 whales, naming new whales can be a very long process. However, after many hours of brainstorming, persuading, and voting, the following names were approved:

1998 Calves

Snapdragon (unidentified mother)

Lieutenant (Bullet’s calf)

Mallet (Cardhu’s calf)

Cajun (Cascade’s calf)

Runway (Cats Paw’s calf)

Monarch (Dome’s calf)

Margarita (Dos Equis’ calf)

Tallow (Duo’s calf)

Beacon (Echo’s calf)

Typhoon (Effervescence’s calf)

Terrapin (Fan’s calf)

Snowplow (Fern’s calf)

Banyan (Glo’s calf)

Vortex (Inferno’s calf)

Quark (Isosceles’ calf)

Basmati (Isthmus’ calf)

Elegans (Ivee’s calf)

Rain (Lightning’s calf)

Ganesh (Loon’s calf)

Gloaming (Midnight’s calf)

Ocelot (Milky Way’s calf)

Thumper (Nimbus’ calf)

Amazon (Nile’s calf)

Jota (Olympia’s calf)

Graphite (Onyx’s calf)

JIB (Owl’s calf)

Perseid (Palette’s calf)

Bishop (Pepper’s calf)

Raisin (Rapier’s calf)

Shears (Reaper’s calf)

Messina (Scylla’s calf)

Evanesce (Skateboard’s calf)

Hammerhead (Shark’s calf)

Coffee (Spoon’s calf)

Atari (Spicule’s calf)

Slalom (Staff’s calf)

Aztec (Tanith’s calf)

Etch-a-Sketch (Thalassa’s calf)

Mas Menos (Tornado’s calf)

Draco (Trident’s calf)

Mordor (Ursa’s calf)

Canopy (Valley’s calf)

Mardi Gras (Verga’s calf)

Seamount (W’s calf)

Karyotype (Whisk’s calf)

Sorcerer (Wizard’s calf)

Visage (Zipper’s calf),

New Whales

Adirondack

Blackhole

Bric-a-Brac

Calisto

Cayman

Drizzle

Erosion

Falcon

Ferule

Fiddler

Follicle

Granite

Joust

Limbo

Mirage

Moore

Pierce

Quasar

Roswell

Sequin

Sterling

Symphony

Teton

Tsunami

Valance

Vertigo