Bowhead Whale

 

Animal Unique | Bowhead Whale | Bowhead whale is a baleen whale of thright whale family Balaenidae in suborder Mysticeti. Bowhead whales have a circumpolar distribution in high latitudes in the northern hemisphere. They live under ice for most of the year, usually winter on the southern border of the ice or in polynyas. Migration is seasonal. In the spring when the ice breaks, they are migrating north and are often accompanied by beluga whales that follow them through the wires in the ice. The largest population of Bowhead whales are found in the Bering Sea in winter, migrating north in the western Arctic, Beaufort and Chukchi Sea in the spring.

Scientific classification
Kingdom:     Animalia
Phylum:     Chordata
Class:     Mammalia
Order:     Cetacea
Suborder:     Mysticeti
Family:     Balaenidae
Genus:     Balaena
Linnaeus, 1758
Species:     B. mysticetus 

Bowhead whale's body is black with a white chin spot with a line of black spots. Their triangular tail fins, which are 7.6 m can be measured from point to point, and tail white markings also show that increases with age. Their paddle-shaped flippers are about 1.8 m in length. There is a peak ridge on the dorsal side of the front end of the body for holes, and a noticeable depression behind them. There is no dorsal fin characteristic of this genus. The Greenlandic lacks the abundance of calcium deposits on the thick skin of other feature right whales. Greenland has a 50 cm thick layer of insulating fat or lard, to survive in the frigid waters of its habitat.

Adult males reach physical maturity at 15 m and reach sexual maturity is reached at 11.6 m. Adult females are slightly larger than males at both the physical and sexual maturity. Bowhead whale is known for its huge head equal to one third of the body length in size. The mouth is curved and the whale has a narrow rostrum, or beak-like jaw. The mouth is long and narrow, measuring up to 4.3 m long with a huge tongue weighing about 907 kg. This whale has 230-360 baleen on each side of the mouth. These plates consist of a fingernail-like material called keratin that frays into fine hairs on the ends along the inside of the mouth.

Like whales, Bowhead whale is thin feeders and consume around 1,800 kg of food per day. Their diet is more varied, however, and includes not only copepods and krill, but also other invertebrates. More than 60 prey species identified in the stomachs of Bowhead whale killed by Inuit hunting in Alaska. Bowhead are usually solitary while foraging, although they are occasionally seen feeding together.

Bowhead whale is a slow swimmer and usually travel alone or in small herds of up to six. The whales' behavior can be broken, tail strike, and spyhopping. The bowhead whale is very vocal and uses underwater sounds to communicate while traveling, food, and fun. Some Bowhead whale make long repetitive songs that can be mating calls. The main predators of Bowhead whale is people. Occasional attacks of predatory orca pods have also been included. The Bowhead whale has been hunted for blubber, meat, oil, bones and ribs. Like whales, they swim slowly and float after death, making it ideal for whaling. For commercial whaling, there were an estimated 50,000 Bowhead whale . Commercial whaling, the main cause of population decline is over.

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