Details
Balaena mysticetus
Bowhead whale is a large Arctic baleen whale with thick blubber and a strongly arched mouth. Past whaling reduced populations, and rapid Arctic environmental change is a continuing concern.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It inhabits Arctic and subarctic seas, ice edges, and cold continental-shelf waters. Main habitat types in this guide are ocean, polar.
Typical length 1400-2000 cm, weight 75 t-100 t. A huge head, arched upper jaw, dark body, no dorsal fin, and thick blubber are distinctive.
It is seasonal in its movements and activity and often found in loose groups. It moves seasonally along sea-ice edges and breathes through leads and openings.
It is a filter feeder. Small crustaceans and plankton are filtered through baleen.
Females bear single calves that grow in cold seas while building insulating blubber.
Although still widespread in places, it remains sensitive to habitat change. Past whaling reduced populations, and rapid Arctic environmental change is a continuing concern.
