Research

SUPPORTING ACADEMIC RESEARCH

Gentle Giants has good cooperation with the University of Iceland's Research Centre in Húsavík, offering our boats as a platform for marine biology research. Feel free to ask about their research if you see them on board.



TOURISM AS SCIENCE

Help tell the story of these magnificent animals!

Have you been out at sea with us? Did you get that much dreamt of shot of a humpback whale’s flukes (tail) as it raised it out of the water just before leaving for a dive?

YES! But did you know these photos can actually support research?

When it comes to our beloved humpback whales, every tail tells a tale: the black and white patterns on the underside of the whales’ flukes are as unique as our fingerprints – making it possible to identify them all as individuals.

How?

Happywhale is an online platform, which was founded in 2015 and encourages whale watchers to take part in research and share their flukes photos in order to count, track and collect data of individual humpback whales.

Visit Happywhale


How it works?

  1. You submit your photos on the official platform.
  2. The team of Happywhale identifies your humpback whale by its unique black and white markings on the underside of its flukes.
  3. Happywhale tracks your whale around the globe and you are able to follow its journey from home!



Viviana Valli Flukes Photo

Photo: Vittoria Sesani (Guide)

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