The Northern Indian Ocean Killer Whale ID Catalogue and sightings repository are the result of an extensive collaborative effort by the individuals and organizations that make up the Northern Indian Ocean Killer Whale Alliance (NIOKWA). 

 

Terms of Use:
Data and images are the copyright of the respective individual contributors, associated study and/or network, and are not to be used without prior written permission. 
For all requests relating to data use in publication or commercial applications, and requests for access to high-resolution images, please contact the NIOKWA administrators via details on the Contact Us page.

 

 

 

Identification:

This catalogue uses the tears, nicks and scars found on the dorsal fin as the primary method to identify individuals.

 

Saddle Patch Pigmentation:

The saddle patch is the grey saddle-shaped area at the base of a killer whale's dorsal fin. It is typically used as a feature for identification in the study of other killer whales, particularly in those from cold and temperate waters. However, killer whales in the tropics tend to have a saddle patch that is too faint to be a reliable feature for ID. Visibility and degree of shading does tend to vary from animal to animal and pod to pod, with some individuals having no visible patch while others’ are clear enough to see unique contrasting scars. In the cases where an individual’s saddle patch is clear enough to be used in identification, the image has been cropped to include it. 

 

Limitations of opportunistic data:

Many of the encounters with these elusive, pelagic killer whales were opportunistic. Please understand that image quality and availability varies. For this catalogue, we have used just one side of the dorsal fin that best shows the overall silhouette. The killer whales are catalogued into pods, but in some cases not all of the pod was photographed, or photographed with a quality suitable for ID. At the top of each pod listing, an approximate number of animals sighted during that encounter has been given. This is based on either details provided by the observer or the number of distinguishable individuals present in photographs and/or footage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Click on an image to magnify detail)