A unique way to track whales

If you've ever wondered how whales end up in the Hudson River or San Francisco Bay, this post might be of particular interest. Information Aesthetics today posted an item on a "unique visualization method" that tracks the behavior of large sea-going mammals.

We're not sure, however, if it's the easiest diagram to understand. Among the instructions: "A pattern of chevrons on the top surface of the ribbon reveals travel direction & gives an additional orientation cue. The sawtooth's amplitude on top of the ribbon reveals the amount of angular acceleration at any given instant." We may decide to watch the Discovery channel instead.