Photo-Identification Catalogues

**Photo-identification** (ID) **catalogues** are documents compiled by researchers, research organizations, and citizen scientists to provide a visual database of a given killer whale community. The practice of cataloguing killer whales as individuals was pioneered by Michael A. Bigg (1939-1990), who found distinguishing physical features persist throughout a killer whale's life. This work allowed Bigg and colleagues to study the social organization of killer whales, uncovering a complex, matrilineal social system. Despite his untimely death from cancer at 50 years old, Bigg's work revolutionized the field of cetology. Bigg's killer whales - previously known as transients - are named in his honor.

This page serves to collect photo-identification catalogues for killer whale populations around the globe.

## Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans

### Azores Population

*The Azores is a nine-island archipelago northwest of Morocco; it is an autonomous region of Portugal.*

An interactive, up-to-date catalogue can be found online at MONICET.

### Eastern Canada Populations

* Newfoundland, Labrador, eastern North America

### Icelandic Population

* Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Winter Edition (Mrusczok 2015)
* Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Winter Edition (Mrusczok 2016)
* Snæfellsnes Peninsula (Mrusczok 2017)
* Snæfellsnes Peninsula (Mrusczok 2022)
* Iceland (Samarra et al. 2017)
* Scotland/Iceland Migrators (Mrusczok & Scullion 2019)- See also "British Isles Populations", in this section ("Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans").

### Norwegian Population

* Vesterålen population (van Twillert 2014) [Source] - Vesterålen is an archipelago of northern Norway. Whales documented in this catalogue are of the Type 1 Eastern North Atlantic ecotype.
* Seal-eating population (Jourdain et al. 2017) - Additional sightings data downloadable on the source page.
* (Jourdain & Karoliussen 2021) - This catalogue cumulatively covers years 2007-2021. Previous versions are available by selecting a version on the source page.

An interactive catalogue can be found at Norwegian Orca Survey's website. This online catalogue allows users to browse killer whales by their physical characteristics, making it particularly useful for field identifications.

### Strait of Gibraltar and Gulf of Cádiz

*A critically endangered population with ~50 individuals. Various different groups monitor them, but there is little information publicly available. Below is a compilation of websites that hold various amounts of information, ranging from CIRCE's catalog to a tumblr catalog*

* CIRCE 2015 or earlier
* Compiled Information, 2015
* Information and Population Updates, 2022+
* Proyecto Orca Catalogue Fall 2022
* Orca Iberica Catalogue (2022/23)

## South Atlantic Ocean

### Argentinian Patagonia

*This region is notable in the orca community for the Valdes Peninsula (Península Valdés), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This site is home to a population of killer whales who intentionally beach themselves as a hunting technique.*

* Península Valdés (PVOR 2019) [Source]
* Península Valdés (PNOR 2020)
* Península Valdés (PNOR 2021)

### Sea Lion Island (Falkland Island)

*The Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) are a remote South Atlantic archipelago, territory of the UK, in the South Atlantic Ocean. This population is being studied by the Elephant Seal Research Group (ESRG)*

* ESRG 2013/2014
* ESRG 2014/2015
* ESRG 2015/2016
* ESRG 2017/2018
* ESRG 2019/2020

## North Pacific Ocean

### Alaskan Populations

* Prince William Sound (Heise et al. 1992) [Source]
* Gulf of Alaska (Dahlheim 1997) [Source]
* Southern Alaska (Matkin et al. 1999)
* (NGOS 2012) [Source]
* (NGOS 2016) [Source]
* (NGOS 2020)

Up-to-date ID-catalogues are freely available for viewing and download at North Gulf Oceanic Society (NGOS)'s website.

### Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) Population

* California and W. Mexico (Black et al. 1997) [Source] - California killer whales overlap with OCT population; Mexico killer whales overlap with ETP population.
* Mexico and Central America (Olson & Gerrodette 2008) [Source]

### Japan Populations

* Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan (Haba et al. 2007-2012)
* Eastern Hokkaido (Mitani et al. 2011) [Source]
* Eastern Hokkaido (Haba et al. 2013) [Source]

### Northern Resident (NRKW) Population

* (Bigg et al. 1987)
* (Ford et al. 2000)
* (Ellis et al. 2007) [Source]
* (Ellis et al. 2011) [Source]
* (Towers et al. 2015) [Source]
* (Towers et al. 2020) [Source]

### Outer Coast Transient (OCT) Population

* California and W. Mexico (Black et al. 1997) [Source] - Mexico killer whales overlap with ETP population
* Mexico and Central America (Olson & Gerrodette 2008) [Source]
* Outer Coast Transients, N. California/Oregon (McInnes et al. 2021)

### Russian Far East Populations

* Eastern Kamchatka (Burdin et al. 2006) [Source]
* Mammal-eating group from Western Sea of Okhotsk (Shpak & Shulezhko 2013)
* Avacha Gulf (FEROP 2021) - Click on any "Pods" links for photo-identification.

### Southern Resident (SRKW) Population

* (Bigg et al. 1987)
* (Ford et al. 2000)
* Summer Edition (Ellifrit et al. 2009)
* (CWR 2009)
* Matrilines (CWR 2010)
* (CWR 2010)
* (CWR 2011)
* Summer Edition (Ellifrit et al. 2012)
* Fall Edition (Ellifrit et al. 2013) [Source]
* Summer Edition (Ellifrit et al. 2014)
* CWR 2018
* CWR 2019
* CWR 2021
* CWR 2022

A donation may be made to the Center for Whale Research to obtain the latest Southern Resident killer whale photo-IDs, as well as common Bigg's killer whales in the Washington area.

### West Coast Transient/Bigg's (WCT) Population

* (Bigg et al. 1987)
* (Ford & Ellis 1999)
* (Ellis et al. 2008) [Source]
* (Towers et al. 2012)
* (Towers et al. 2019) [Source]
* CWR 2019

## South Pacific Ocean

### Australia (East Coast) Population

* Eastern Australia (Donnelly et al. 2019) [Source]

### Eden Population (East Coast Australia)

*Famous for their historic collaberation with the whalers of Eden, these orcas are no longer active in the area and orcas are only occasionally seen passing through Eden now. Whaling and Whaler-Orca interactions and the individuals who participated are no more*

* Eden Pods
* More In-depth information

### New Zealand Population

* (Orca Research Trust 2016) - Notable individuals.
* (Visser & Cooper 2020)

## South Indian Ocean

### Amsterdam and St. Paul Islands

*Amsterdam and St. Paul are neighboring islands, together making up one of five claimed lands in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF). They are located equidistant to Madagascar, Australia, and Antarctica.*

* (Tixier & Guinet 2013)

### Mozambique Channel Populations

*The Mozambique Channel is the part of the Indian Ocean which separates Madagascar from mainland Mozambique.*

* (Terrapon et al. 2021) [Source]

### Western Australia / Australia (West Coast) Populations

* Ningaloo Coast (Totterdell 2015)
* Bremer Sub-Basin (Wellard & Erbe 2017)

## Southern Ocean

### Adélie Land (Terre Adélie)

*Adélie Land is one of five claimed lands in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF) districts. It is located on mainland Antarctica and is south of Australia.*

* (Chambellant et al. 2012)

### Crozet Islands (Îles Crozet)

*The Crozet Islands are an archipelago making up one of five claimed lands in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF). They are located south of Madagascar.*

* (Tixier et al. 2011)
* (Tixier et al. 2014)
* Type D whales (Tixier et al. 2014)
* (Tixier et al. 2021)

### Prince Edward Islands (Marion and Prince Edward Island)

*The Prince Edward Islands are south of and managed by South Africa.*

* (Reisinger et al. 2010) [Source]
* (Reisinger & de Bruyn 2014)
* (Jordaan et al. 2019)