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Species - Details
Scientific name:
Balaena mysticetus
SARA Status: Under consideration
COSEWIC Status: Special Concern (April 2009)
Region: Eastern Arctic
Related Information
COSEWIC Status Report – Bowhead Whales (2009)
Did You Know?
Nothing wasted
The bowhead whale was once an important part of the traditional diet of—and an essential resource for—Inuit peoples. The successful capture of a bowhead whale meant food, tools, equipment, shelter, heat and light for a whole community. The whale’s blubber was not only an excellent food source, but was also the best source of oil for light and heat. Bowhead rib and jaw bones were used as roof supports, and the vertebrae as blocks for chopping and cutting. Other bones were made into tools and sled runners. The whale’s baleen were used to lash together sleds and kayak frames. A limited and well-managed survival hunt has recently been revived in both the eastern and western Arctic under the Nunavut and Inuvialuit Land Claim Agreements. This hunt is very small and carefully managed.
The Bowhead Whale (Eastern Canada-West Greenland population)
This Bowhead Whale population has been identified as a species of Special Concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). It is currently being considered for listing under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA). Protection is currently afforded through the federal Fisheries Act. If listed under SARA, it will be afforded additional protection. Under SARA, a management plan will be developed for this species.
Balaena mysticetus
Illustration by G. Kuehl
© Fisheries & Oceans Canada
General Description
The Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus) is a large baleen whale in the Balaenidae family. Other common names include the Greenland Whale, Greenland Right Whale and Polar Whale. In northern Aboriginal languages, it is known as Arviq or Arvik (Inuktitut and Inuvialuktun), Agkhovik (Inupiat), Akhgvopik (Yupik) and Ittiv (Chukchi). The Bowhead Whale has the following characteristics:
- Barrel-shaped body and a very large head (about 30% of total body length);
- Upper jaw is bowed sharply upward; each side of upper jaw has on average 330 baleen plates up to 427 cm long ;
- The blubber layer is thick, from 5.5 cm on the chin to about 28 cm over the trunk reaching a maximum of 50 cm;
- Flippers are small and paddle-shaped;
- No dorsal fin or dorsal hump;
- Flukes are pointed at the tip;
- Calves are 4 to 4.5 m long at birth and brownish black in colour; and
- Adults are black in colour with white areas near the chin, eyelids, flipper insertions, ano-genital area, tail stock and flukes
Distribution
Bowhead Whales have a nearly circumpolar distribution in the northern hemisphere, with a territory that covers waters between 54° to 85°N latitude. Physical barriers such as land and impassable ice are believed to have divided the world’s bowheads into four populations, two of which occur in Canada: the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Sea population and the Eastern Arctic – West Greenland population.
The Eastern Arctic – West Greenland population was once considered to be made up of two distinct populations (Hudson Bay-Foxe Basin and Davis Strait-Baffin Bay). The extent of occurrence of the Eastern Arctic – Western Greenland population is roughly one million km2 and is considered stable. Bowhead Whales from this population summer in western Baffin Bay, the Canadian High Arctic, northern Foxe Basin, and northwestern Hudson Bay. The fall migration occurs over two to three months starting in late August/September. Wintering occurs in areas with unconsolidated pack ice such as northern Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, central Davis Strait, southern Baffin Bay, and off West Greenland. These areas provide shelter and protection from predation.
Bowhead Whale Distribution (Eastern Canada – West Greenland population)
This link opens a larger image (712 KB).
Habitat and Life History
Bowhead Whales occur in marine waters within areas ranging from open water to thick, unconsolidated pack ice. They break through ice over 20 cm thick with the crown of the head to breathe, and can navigate and communicate under extensive ice fields using their sophisticated acoustic sense. They grow and develop slowly, reaching sexual maturity at about 25 years of age. Females grow faster than males and give birth approximately once every three years during the spring migration. Gestation lasts between 12 and 16 months. Lifespan is estimated between 50 and 75 years, with some individuals reaching over 100 years of age.
Diet
Bowhead Whales feed on crustacean zooplankton such as euphausiids and copepods, which they filter through hair-like material called baleen, by skimming the water under the surface for long periods of time. Epibenthic organisms (mysids and gammariid amphipods) are also consumed. It has been suggested that the annual variability in Bowhead Whale sightings is related to the abundance and distribution of zooplankton.
Threats
Commercial whaling was once the greatest threat to the Bowhead Whale and the main reason why the species is at risk in parts of its range. At present, the Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) may pose the greatest threat. Other threats may include industrial and manmade underwater noises, net entanglements, collisions with ships, pollution and climate change.
Similar Species
- There are no similar species.
Text Sources:COSEWIC Status Report 2009.
For more information, visit the SARA Registry Website at www.SARAregistry.gc.ca.
