547, Cimmerian

Nicknamed by Alaska Whale Foundation and a member of  the core bubble netting group, Cimmerian was first seen in August of 2007. There are two possibilities for the meaning of this whale’s name. Less likely to me is the fact that Cimmerians in history were an Indo-European people living near the Caucasus around 1300 BCE. More likely is what Captain Collin Pilcher told me, Cimmerians are the people from the homeland of the fictional Conan the Barbarian created by writer Robert E. Howard in 1932. Note the shallow scallops with just a hint of white.

I’d seen Cimmerian only three times until 2014. The first was June 27, 2009 in the photo with the boat in Saginaw Channel. Next was June 7, 2012 for the large fluke shot in Halibut Cove in Favorite Channel. My last was August 30, 2012 near Eagle Reef in Favorite Channel with the snow-capped Coast Range in the background and another whale diving on a sunny day with abundant gulls. In 2014 he became almost common from June 16 through mid July (this writing) in bubble netting groups, especially around South Shelter Island and Young Bay.