Happywhale: Every whale has a story to tell
Happywhale, a global Citizen Science project, was established in 2015 to record whale sightings and build a better understanding of these magnificent creatures.
A photograph of a whale tail might look like a souvenir. To a scientist, it's a data point. To the whale, it's a chapter in a life story that could span decades and oceans.
HX has been contributing whale observations to Happywhale since the citizen science platform was formally established in 2015. Today, Happywhale connects researchers, expedition travellers, and wildlife enthusiasts around the world, using photographs to identify individual whales and track their movements across the oceans. Several of the species we encounter are endangered or recovering from commercial whaling – and every photograph that helps tell their story also helps protect their future.
Through this long-standing collaboration, HX guests can turn memorable wildlife encounters into valuable scientific observations – and discover more about the lives of the animals they encounter.
Happywhale: Connecting encounters across the oceans
Every humpback whale carries a unique pattern on the underside of its tail – a fingerprint as individual as yours. Happywhale uses photographs from people around the world to identify individual whales from those markings and piece together their stories. A whale photographed feeding in Antarctica might next appear thousands of kilometres away in tropical breeding waters. By connecting these encounters across years and oceans, researchers can track migration routes, habitat use, population movements, and the slow recovery of whale populations following decades of commercial whaling. Understanding where these endangered animals go – and when – is essential to protecting them.
"I want people to feel a relationship with these animals. When you know a whale by name, when you've seen its story, you care about what happens to it."
— Ted Cheeseman, Co-founder, Happywhale
From a memorable encounter to a scientific contribution
For HX guests, Happywhale offers a simple but meaningful way to become part of the research. During expeditions, particularly in the polar regions, guests are encouraged to photograph whales and submit their images to the platform – contributing observations from some of the world's most remote marine environments. With guidance from our Expedition Teams, guests learn how individual whales can be recognised and why photographic identification matters. A single encounter can reveal that a whale has been seen before – perhaps on another HX voyage, perhaps thousands of kilometres away. Each photograph adds another piece to its story. "HX voyages have proven to be excellent sources of citizen science data; we anticipate this project to use AI for marine science communication will enrich the experience of travelers, empower HX guides in the field, and prove to deliver rich insight for our whale science work in polar regions." – Ted Cheeseman, Co-founder, Happywhale
Get involved with Happywhale
Through its long-standing collaboration with Happywhale, HX supports whale research by contributing photographs and sightings collected during expeditions, helping scientists identify individual animals and track their movements, while guests can explore the observations recorded on HX voyages and discover the stories behind the whales encountered.
Key Stats
6,945 | Happywhale encounters
329 | Identified individuals
217 | Identified whales documented by HX citizen scientists in the North Atlantic
1,400+ | Marine mamals photographed by HX Citisen scientists in the Southern Ocean
287 | Identified North Pacific humpback whales photographed by HX citizen scientists, with more than 8,000 recorded encounters
*Correct as of July 2026
Not just Whales
Since 2015, Happywhale has connected thousands of whale encounters from every corner of the globe. But whale watchers weren't only photographing whales. Images of dolphins, porpoises, seals, and other marine animals soon began pouring in. Recognising the scientific value of these observations, Happywhale expanded its platform to identify and track a diverse range of marine wildlife, helping researchers unlock new insights into life beneath the waves.
