Bowhead Whale: Balaena mysticetus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Bowhead Whale: A slow swimming plankton-feeder with the longest baleen of all whales
Size
- Up to 19m (65 feet), up to 90,000kg (200,000 lbs)
- Baleen up to 3.6m (12 feet) long
Color & Characteristics
- Black with white chin patch and white on tail base
- No dorsal fin - V-shaped, bushy, high blow
- Massive head with large baleen in upper, arching jaw
Habitat
- Arctic to subarctic shelves, often near sea ice
- Circumpolar but discontinuous distribution
Feeding
- Pelagic and near-bottom filter-feeder
- Swims through zooplankton with mouth agape targetting copepods, euphausids, and amphipods
- Near bottom foraging sometimes results in mud on head and back
Life cycle
- Length at birth 3-4.5m (10-15 feet)
- Sexual maturity at 12-20 years
- Females have calves every 3-7 years
- Longevity over 200 years
Behavior
- Swims slowly
- Capable of breaking through 60 cm (2 feet) of ice
- Usually single or in small groups, sometimes in aggregations during feeding
Page Author: Sue Moore, Lloyd Lowry & Bodil Bluhm
Created: Aug 24, 2008
