Apex  # 0262

Apex has been seen repeatedly around Stellwagen Bank since she was pregnant with her first known calf, Shark, in 1982.  She has given birth to at least six calves since then; her latest calf, born in 1999, was named Libra at the annual naming workshop (See Apex's Family Tree).  Her daughter Shark is almost as proficient a mother as Apex.  Shark has had four calves in her lifetime, to date, and in 1996 both mother and daughter showed off  their new calves.

Apex is not the easiest whale to identify.  There are however some key markings on both her dorsal fin and fluke.  Her dorsal is somewhat unusual.  It has the shape of a blunt triangle.  There is a nick missing from the top, forming a peak or apex.  She also has white marks across the front of the dorsal fin.  On the right fluke, there is a thin, black line that comes to a point at the top.  The black and white pattern on her tail is not very symmetrical.