Andrew Stevenson hopes the 2026 season will deliver record fluke IDs and new insights into the whales’ pelagic behaviour
A record number of fluke IDs and a deeper behavioural window into the pelagic lives of humpback whales … those are the hopes of local researcher and filmmaker Andrew Stevenson heading into the 2026 season.
It may only be January, but the humpbacks are already putting on a show for residents.
Last week, a rare sighting of three humpback whales inside the reef system was reported off Dockyard.
Mr. Stevenson was able to study the pod up close, capturing his first fluke ID of the 2026 season.
One whale, a yearling, was matched to Labrador, Canada but had never been seen before, an indication of its young age.
Knowing that humpbacks, especially calves and yearlings, are sometimes seen alongside bottlenose dolphins, questions were raised about whether the pod was drawn to the dolphins at Dockyard.
Austin Allen, Lead Scientist and Research Coordinator at Dolphin Quest, says it is incredibly unlikely the whales were attracted to the dolphins, citing anatomical studies that suggest baleen whales may have a very limited sense of smell.
Mr. Allen also says it’s unlikely the whales could have heard the dolphins, noting that bottlenose dolphins produce high-frequency sounds that don’t travel far, especially in shallow water.
Still, the sighting highlights Bermuda’s unique role in whale research … offering scientists rare access to the mammals up close.
