The fin is tall for a Cuvier\'s and the guide from ORCA who ID\'d this has since sent off her photos for expert checking just in case it\'s the considerably less-often sighted Northern Bottlenose Whale - unfortunately none of the photos show the beak clearly, which would settle this very quickly. I strongly believe the original ID is the correct one as she did see the head and they are very different - I was a fraction later seeing it and missed the beak, which wasn\'t visible on the later rolls of the whale\'s back. ORCA\'s data is used for actual scientific monitoring though so she\'s quite right to get it checked.
Regardless of whether the ID opinion changes, it\'s a whole new family for me.
I've just been informed that ORCA's ID expert is '90%' certain this is indeed a Northern Bottlenose Whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus, based on the photos taken by the ORCA representative!
