Artwork > Fluke Sculptures

Barnacles is recognized by circular scars etched by barnacles past. She is mother to at least four calves: Kelp in 2009, Acorn in 2019, Limpet in 2022, and Urchin in 2024. The creature is seldom seen in her mating grounds, detected once off each island of Maui, O’ahu, and Hawai’i.

The public database HappyWhale has received over 480 sightings of Barnacles since her first encounter 25 years ago in Alaska. Kelp is her only calf to return to the childhood feeding ground of Juneau, inferring that her offspring have spread to other shores like plankton adrift in the currents.