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Tagging a giant

Picture by: Dave Weller Picture taken on: March 6th, 2012

Tags: gray whale whale earth day SWFSC marine mammal tag

Tracking a giant: a tiny satellite tag is attached to an adult gray whale’s back (dorsal ridge). The tag sticks to the whale, while the bolt that carried it rebounds to be retrieved by the field team. The LIMPET tag used here weighs 49g, and this whale weighs around 40,000 kg, almost a million times the mass of the tag!

Related Story: Tagging a giant