Courtesy of Whales of Yale

One of these days, you might just stumble upon a crocheted whale sitting atop a shelf. Since last semester, Yalies have been on the hunt for these crocheted whales, usually hidden in obscure locations around campus. 

Inspired by the crocheted birds at Brown University, the Whales of Yale project posted their first creation, a blue and white whale named Ruby, in September for students to find. Since then, Whales of Yale has amassed over 1,000 followers on Instagram.

Whales of Yale is run by a small team that designs, crochets and distributes the whales. Like Birbs at Brown, the initiative remains anonymous. Whales of Yale has hidden 89 whales for students to find thus far. 

Nick Ribeiro ’26, an avid whale finder, recalled the excitement of his first hunt. As of now, Ribeiro has found five whales.

After finding out about @whalesofyale from a friend, he turned on notifications from the account. A week later, his phone pinged while he was working on a problem set in Willoughby’s.

Immediately, he recognized the whale’s location and was on the move.

“I sprinted out of the coffee shop and made it to the Yale Bookstore in less than three minutes,” said Ribeiro. There, he found Tina — the 23rd whale the organization had created. “A half dozen people ran in right after me,” Ribeiro said of his opportune timing.

For Ribeiro, the search for these whales has become a game of strategy. Since his first year, he often wandered around campus, he explained, exploring new buildings and unfamiliar areas. This habit helped him develop a strong “geospatial” knowledge of Yale, which has made him skilled at tracking down the whales.

To deduce the location, he carefully examines the clues in each photo posted by the account — analyzing lighting, street markings and architectural details. Once an idea pops up, he always runs over.

Ribeiro recounted a failed attempt to chase down a whale that was riding on the Yale Shuttle, only for a student waiting at a bus stop to find it seconds before he did.

“I’m sure I looked silly zooming by in my jeans and Air Forces,” said Ribeiro. “But that didn’t matter. I was on a mission.”

Ribeiro said that Whales of Yale provides “a whimsical break” to students’ busy lives. He said that the crocheted whales are a “great reminder” of the significance of noticing small details of our everyday.

Beyond the thrill of the chase, Whales of Yale has created a unique sense of connection on campus.

“Running into some of the same people in these random locations around campus has allowed us to share in the joy and frustration of the pursuit of these whales,” said Ribeiro.

Joshua Gabrielson ’28 was one of the first students to find a whale on campus.

Gabrielson, who also has notifications turned on for the Whales of Yale Instagram account, saw Timmy, the fifth whale, photographed in a familiar-looking reading room in Sterling Memorial Library.

“I was really excited,” Gabrielson said. “The whole point of finding these whales is to take a good break from the monotony of studying. There’s certain adrenaline when you find tangible awards like these.”

Gabrielson said that he also appreciated the time and dedication the Whales of Yale team puts into hand-crocheting every whale.

This project offers a similar appeal to that of previous campus ‘hide and seek’ games, such as the Veritas Search, said Gabrielson.

“I think a lot of people at Yale enjoy a little expedition and adventure,” Gabrielson said. “It’s fun that this anonymous source is injecting that into the community.”

For William Ning ’26, finding Peri, the 85th whale, was the best moment of his life. Ning had been eating lunch with his friends when one of his friends saw a new post on the @whalesofyale Instagram. Determined, they set off looking for the whale, which seemed to lay between the philosophy books either in Bass or Sterling Library, Ning said.

“I realized [the whale] might be in the DS Philosophy lounge of HQ,” said Ning. “When I found it, it was the most incredible accomplishment I felt while being on campus.”

Similarly to others, Ning said that he has Instagram notifications turned on for @whalesofyale. He had first been introduced to this account when his friend found a whale in front of HQ by chance.

Finding too many whales may not be a good thing, according to Ning, who said that there were numerous posts on Fizz, a students-exclusive anonymous social media app, criticizing a student who had found too many whales. Nevertheless, Ning praised this project for bringing joy, especially at a time when the nation is going through a lot of transformation, he said.

“I think it’s a really nice project,” Ning said. “I don’t know who runs it but it is so selfless to spend your time doing these things for other people to take home and you get no credit for it.”

On Feb. 12, just in time for Valentine’s Day, Whales of Yale will host a raffle for whale candygrams.