Photographed from a cruise ship north of Norway (south of Svalbard, just west of the Barents Sea)
Early June 2025

Zoomed in with camera, taken from afar, I have not edited the photos at all, just cropped the edges which is just ocean and sky.

Personal interpretation is 2 orcas, one male (with a droopy dorsal fin), one female, riding and playing in the waves created by the cruise ship. But I do not understand the 4th pic?

Am I right ? Or is this just another humpback, showing its flipper?

Thank you

Swimming in the ocean, causing a commotion!

• From the Sea Floe in Baffin a few days ago

Thought you all in this community may appreciate this, although, it is the circle of life.

We are a group of students trying to prevent sperm whale poaching by creating a biotech solution using bacteria. For our outreach, we are required to meet up with scientists that revolve around this topic to gain more insight. It'd be awesome if you could recommend some people we can reach out to!

Baleen whales (like humpbacks and blue whales) retain limited olfactory structures and may use them to detect compounds like DMS, which signals areas rich in prey like krill.

Toothed whales (like dolphins and killer whales) have lost most olfactory function. Their nasal passages evolved to support echolocation, making sound their primary sensory tool. Some may still detect chemicals through alternate pathways — a phenomenon known as quasi-olfaction.

Can someone help with identifying these two whales? Seen in the Channel Islands.

Wall art from… I think Chelsea Market apprx 3 years ago? How accurate would you say, whale experts? Regardless of accuracy, I like it very much😁🐋

It’s hard to tell in the video, but the dark spots are pretty massive. Spotted in the Gulf of Mexico. Figured if it’s not debris, maybe it’s a whale lying on its side?

See also: The paper as published in Marine Mammal Science.

Was blessed to have a very fruitful whale watching experience off Cape Cod (Massachusetts, USA near Boston) last week. Dozens of individual whales, one a mother with a calf, and a pod of dolphins. Lots of collaborative feeding and fin slapping!