| Family: |
Balaenidae () |
| Max. size: |
1800 cm TL (male/unsexed); 2000 cm TL (female); max.weight: 100,000 kg |
| Environment: |
pelagic; marine |
| Distribution: |
Pacific Ocean, Northern Atlantic and the Arctic. [Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Sea population: LR/cd; Okhotsk Sea population: EN, D; Svalbard-Barents Sea (Spitsbergen) population: CR, D: IUCN 2010 (Ref. 84930)]. |
| Diagnosis: |
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| Biology: |
Lives among the pack ice, migrating to the high arctic summer, but retreating southward in winter with the advancing ice edge. Feeds on small to medium-sized invertebrates, especially krill and copepods. Bowhead whales were heavily hunted for several centuries. Today they are partially protected by the IWC. The current world population is still threatened by small-scale hunting by Alaskan, Canadian, and Russian natives. In addition, there are various forms of habitat degradation, including disturbance from oil and gas exploration and development activities (Ref. 1394). Lives among the pack ice, migrating to the high arctic summer, but retreating southward in winter with the advancing ice edge. Feeds on small to medium-sized invertebrates, especially krill and copepods (Ref. 1394). |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
(LC); Date assessed: 01 January 2018 Ref. 123251)
|
| Threat to humans: |
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| Country info: |
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