dolphins whales community
BOWHEAD WHALE
Balaena mysticetus
Classification:
The bowhead whale has the longest whale bone of any whale with the plates reaching 5m in length.
It is known to be the second species to become the primary target of commercial whaling, and hunted to near extinction in the middle of the 20th century, still four of the five remaining stocks of bowhead whales remain Vulnerable, endangered or Critically Endangered.
They are found only in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, it would be difficult to confuse the bowhead whale with any other large whale as few range this far north except the occasional humpback or grey whale.
​
​
​
​
​
​
Behaviour:
Bowheads occasionally breach, lobtail and do flipper slaps, and may spyhop when alone.
They feed at or just below the surface of the water ('skim-feeding') and possibly along the seabed.
Although not much is known about the diving habits of the bowhead whales, as with other large whales they are thought to dive to depths of more than 200m, with an average dive time of 4 to 20 minutes, (although some have been known to be underwater for over an hour at a time), often surfacing again in the same place.
When they need to come to the surface to breathe, they are incapable of breaking through ice up to at least 60cm thick to make a breathing hole and also some authorities suggest that they can break even thicker ice.
The mother and the calf bond is strong, and young animals are curious and often play with objects floating in the water.
Bowhead whales are very rare to found far from the edge of the pack ice and they are the only large whales to live exclusively in the Arctic.
They generally travel in groups of three or less, but gather into larger groups on feeding ground.
​
Appearance:
As to their name, bowhead whales have a huge arched upper jaw, and their mouthline is strongly bowed.
The head is approximately one-third of the total body length and has two blowholes.
There is a large hallow behind the blowhole, giving it a distinct double-humped shape, or 'neck', when it goes onto the surface to breathe.
They have a distinct V-shaped blow, caused by the wide space between the two blowholes.
The bowhead whale has a large smooth body with no callosities or growths and a rounded back with no dorsal fin, hump or ridge.
The blubber is up to 70cm thick.
The bowhead whale is mainly black in colour with varying amounts of white on the lower jaw of an individual.
The black markings on the white jaw each represent a chin hair follicle. There are also grey/white markings around the narrowest part of the tail stock and flukes, which become more spotted wile getting older and older. Bowhead whales have wide, paddle-shaped flippers with blunt tips and broad tapered tail flukes measuring up to 6m in length in some animals.
​
Other names:
-
Arctic right whale
-
Arctic whale
-
Greenland right whale
-
Greenland whale
-
Polar whale
1.
Maximum length:
-
Male: 18m
-
Female: 20m
-
Calf: 4m
​
2.
Maximum weight:
-
Male: Unknown
-
Female: 90,000kg
-
Calf: Unknown
3.
Diet:
-
Krill
-
Copepods
4.
Estimated population:
12,000
5.
Distribution map:
​
Distribution:
According to the nineteenth century it is thought that there may have been one single pan-Arctic population of bowhead whales, however this species was hunted close to extinction.
They are still targeted in some areas by native subsistence hunts and although hunting is still a threat to this species, there are other threats as well as habitat loss, chemical and noise pollution, increased ship traffic and climate change.