I recently completed a fantastic cruise through Alaska’s Inside Passage, which included a stop in Juneau where I got to see a big group of humpback whales on an excursion with Gastineau Guiding Co. After going through my photos, I’ve been able to identify seven whales from the dozen or so that I saw.
I did it with help from the Juneau Flukes Catalog, a guide that has recorded 252 individual humpback whales seen in Juneau from 2006-2024. It’s compiled by the non-profit Juneau Flukes group, which is dedicated to research and education about these amazing whales.
So, how do can you identify a humpback whale using the catalog? It’s pretty easy if you get a picture of a whale’s tail.
Humpbacks’ tails have unique colors, patterns, scars and shapes, which can make them easy to ID. It’s similar to using fingerprints to identify humans. These tails can be up to 18 feet wide and more than 6 feet tall. Each half of the tail is called a fluke, and they have their own different identifying characteristics.
The Juneau Flukes guide also gives a little information about each of the whales in its catalog, including when it was first seen, if it has been seen elsewhere and what sort of behavior the whale has exhibited.
Many of that whales I saw on our excursion were doing bubble-net feeding, where the humpbacks work together as a group to feed. Here’s how the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation describes the strategy: “To bubble-net feed, whales dive deep below schools of fish and use bubbles blown from their blowholes to stun and trap fish closer to the surface. One whale generally leads the effort followed by the rest of the group. The leader will usually be responsible for blowing the bubbles and the other members will surround the fish, following them to the surface by swimming in spiral patterns to keep the fish trapped.”
We saw our group of humpbacks doing bubble-net feeding probably a dozen times during our excursion, and it was amazing to watch.
Now, here are the seven whales I was able to identify from our excursion that left out of Statter Harbor and into Auke Bay. I’ve listed them alphabetically.
Cotton
According to the Juneau Fluke Guide, the first known sighting of Cotton was in 2013. (Cotton is also known as SEAK-2753 by researchers, with SEAK standing for its entry into the Southeast Alaska whale catalog curated by the University of Alaska Southeast in Sitka and the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.)
While Cotton’s sex is not yet known, it has been previously seen in bubble-net feeding groups. It has also been photographed in Hawaii, where 90 percent of Juneau humpbacks migrate in the winter for breeding and birthing.
Eocene
Eocene, also knowns as SEAK-1821, was first seen in 2003, so this whale is at least 22 years old.
This male humpback is unusual in that it has been photographed not just in Alaska and Hawaii, but also in Mexico — where only about 10 percent of the Alaska humpbacks travel to for breeding and birthing. This big guy really gets around.
And he too was part of the bubble-net feeding group.
Kelp
There’s a lot of information available about Kelp. He was first seen in 2009 after his mother, Barnacles (SEAK-2070), gave birth to him. He has a “JF” identifier for “Juneau Flukes” since he was first spotted in Juneau.
Juneau locals have watched him grow over the years. As Juneau Flukes notes, “Kelp can often be seen solo surface feeding. Other calves tend to venture to nearby feeding areas after they ween from their mothers, but Kelp is the only calf in this catalog who regularly returns to Juneau. Kelp and his mama can be found feeding on the same prey patches.”
But Kelp doesn’t spend all his time in Juneau. He’s been seen in Hawaii, too.
Magma
Magma, a female humpback, is a bit of an enigma. She was first seen in 2003 and often hangs around the Juneau area late into the humpback season there. She got her name after being seen with another whale named Crater in 2007. She gave birth to a calf named Olivine in 2023.
But here’s the mystery. She’s never been seen in the Hawaiian or Mexican breeding areas for humpback whales. “Where does she go???” the Juneau Fluke Catalog asks.
Also, since I didn’t get a great photo of Magma’s tail, I also used the Juneau Fluke guide’s picture of her dossal fin to verify my ID.
Parcheesy
Parcheesy was first spotted back in 1993, some 32 years ago, making him possibly the second-oldest whale I spotted on this trip.
Parcheesy has been photographed in Hawaii too, but he’s is a favorite among the locals in Juneau. He’s regularly seen in bubble-net feeding groups, like the ones I saw.
Also on my trip, Parcheesy spent time hanging out with another humpback known as Winter, and they gave us some double-whale-tail photographs. (More on Winter later).
Wappi Simba
Wappi Simba, aka SEAK-0276, was not just the oldest whale I photographed outside Juneau, but also the whale I photographed the most. He was first seen 38 years ago in 1987, and he’s been spotted in Hawaii, too.
He has a beautiful tail and apparently likes to show if off — at least during the time I was out photographing whales. His white-and-black tail with two vertical lines on his right fluke made him easy to ID. And, yes, he was also part of the bubble-net feeding group.
Winter
Winter is the humpback who we saw hanging out with Parcheesy, giving us that double-whale-tail photo-op.
Winter, who is also identified as SEAK-1476, was first spotted back in 2005. Its sex is not known, but Winter has been spotted in the humpbacks’ Mexico breeding area.
Like the others, Winter has been seen in bubble-net feeing groups previously, and that’s where we saw it on this trip, too.
And one more … Flame
There was one humpback whale I didn’t see this time, but I did photograph 10 years ago on my first trip to Alaska. That whale is known as Flame.
“If there ever were a VIP award for whales, Juneau would be hard pressed to find a more deserving recipient. Flame is not only our most seen and recognized whale, but also the most prolific!,” the Juneau Fluke Catalog says.
“Flame has had at least 9 calves in 15 years. This includes a 4-year consecutive calving streak from 2019-2022! Usually, females have resting years between calves. Occasionally, they will have two consecutive calves… but FOUR IS INCREDIBLE. She also has a 2025 calf, named ‘Match.'”
So, since I last saw Flame a decade ago, she’s had seven calves. They are Ember (2016), Bunsen (2019), Smoke (2020), Bolt (2021), Cinder (2022), Sizzle (2024) and now Match (2025). Her other calves are Blaze (2011) and Spark (2013).
Hopefully if I ever get a chance to go back to Alaska, I’ll see Blaze, some of her offspring, or some of the other humpbacks I met this time.
