This is a page that could prove useful for beginning indentifiers. Use the table below to learn methods of identifying captive killer whale photos. The images of the first table (below) were sampled from photos of Tilikum. The second table is made of pictures from Ulises. © Sea World, Brian Scott.

Eyepatches	Chin Clips	Dorsals
Eyepatches (or EPs) are the first and foremost way of identifying a killer whale. They differ on whales like fingerprints do on humans. They can be ovalish or triangular, large or small in shape. They can have any sort of extentions, such as prongs or spikes or hooks. Spots are also an occurance, especially in whales that are related to one another. Tilikum's, for example, would be described as swooped, which means the patch looks as if it is swooped back.	Chin clips (or CCs) are a second way of identification. After EPs, these clips are the second most differential feature among whales. Meaning no two are exactly alike. The CC also marks the corner of an individual's mouth. They can be rounded or spiked, single or doubled. Some whales' clips are so unpronouced it does not even appear that they have any clips at all. Tilikum's would be an example of the doubled, rounded chin clips.	Dorsal fins (or dorsals) can vary drastically, depending on a number of things. Males' dorsals tend to flop completely over as they mature. But females' tend to lean less, due to being smaller and lighter. Some females, like Orkid of SWC, have managed to keep their dorsal fins tall and straight. Dorsals can bend either left or right. Left-bending dorsal fins are more common in North America. The whales located in parks of Europe and Japan have dorsals that tend to lean to the right. Tilikum's dorsal leans to his left side.

Flukes	Gential Markings	Unique Features
A killer whale's flukes may stand out, which makes photos of tail waves or fluke kicks easy to ID. Black on top and white on bottom, the white can sometimes weild markings special to one particular whale. Splash of SWC looks as though someone took his tail and a bucket of black paint and sponged his with darkened blotches. Kandu VII (Marineland Ontario) is unique in this field. Only his right fluke is curled. Ulises's are halfway curled and will probably curl up even more as he ages.	If you cannot see anything else, there's always the possibilty of identifying whales by (what I like to call) gender marks. These markings can vary greatly, like eyepatches and chin clips. Some are shaped like V's, some are dots, and some whales barely have any mark at all. Kona II*, a late resident of SWF, had no gential markings whatsoever. As you can see, Ulises's is portrayed as an upside down V, almost like a heart shape.	There are those individuals who have features others don't. Kalina of SWF has two black freckles on the right side of her jaw. Splash of SWC has a mouth that will not close properly because of an accident he was involved in. Corky and Kasatka of SWC and Kohana of SWF have visible notches in their flukes. Kandu VII (Marineland Ontario) has a single black dot between his pectorals. Kiska (Marineland Ontario) has a lower jaw that is speckled with little black pinpricks. Ulises has two features. One is his bump on his chin, the other is the black dot on his tongue, which is sometimes spotted it photos.

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