Photo ID Catalogue

Knowing the animals we watch better helps us protect them and understand the environment they share with other species, including ours, Homo sapiens, which is part of this ecosystem too (we sometimes forget).

This philosophy, combined with growing requests for collaboration in photo-identification research, inspired the creation of our photographic databank.

We don’t want to build yet another catalogue, but an open tool for everyone, curious visitors, whale watchers, students and researchers, where photos can be uploaded, shared and compared with existing catalogues.

The primary reference for this work remains the pioneering catalogue created in 1987 in the Azores by IFAW, Dr. Jonathan Gordon, and Dr. Lisa Steiner, whose contributions continue to guide photo-identification efforts across the Atlantic.