Sei whales aren't the most well known of whales, in fact even marine biologists know relatively little about this species. I was fortunate enough to be able to join researchers from Falklands Conservation as they worked hard to study the whales that come remarkably close to shore here in the Falkland Islands. Compared to other places in the world, where Sei Whales live in deep offshore oceans, the Falklands are a theoretically a lot easier to study here, however in practice this isn't really the case. Standing on the small rib as it enters Berkley Sound, the team of researchers were looking for any signs of whales, with the most obvious being the blow of water they produce when they come up for air. This blow leaves a small cloud in the air which can be visible for a small moment, even after the whale has dived back below the surface of the water. Under the cloudy skies of the Falklands this blow was often very difficult to see, if you only managed to catch it out of the corner of your eye, you could easily spend the next five or ten minutes doubting yourself and wondering if it was a figment of your imagination, or just a change in the clouds. This short film follows Caroline Weir, from Falklands Conservation, as she carries out this pilot study in the Falkland Islands to gather the data that could shed new light on population dynamics of Sei Whales and will be used to develop marine management strategies for the waters around Stanley.
