Mammals · Artiodactyla · Balaenidae

Bowhead Whale

Balaena mysticetus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

It is the longest-lived mammal known, with at least four documented individuals over 100 years old and one male estimated at 211 years by aspartic acid racemisation in the lens of the eye.

Weight

54 t – 100 t

Size

14 m – 20 m

Lifespan

65 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Irregular activity

Active at irregular times, by day or night depending on circumstances.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Estimated population

Around 25,000 animals, most of them in the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas population, and recovering.

OceanPolarOmnivore Variable activity Solitary Ocean Polar Mammal

9countries 15parks 1dive sites3same family

Fun facts

longevidadIt can live more than 100 years, and some individuals examined still carried harpoon points more than a century old in their bodies.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (marine mammal)
Habitat & environment: Arctic and subarctic waters with seasonal ice cover, almost entirely between 60° and 75° north
Birth weight: 500 kg; 4-4.5 m long at birth
Size at birth: 4 - 4.5 m long at birth
Sexual maturity: 20-25.8 years by current estimates
Gestation / incubation: ~13-14 months
Litter / clutch size: 1 young, with an interval between births of 3-6 years

Sources consulted: MarineBio; Journal of Zoology (Nerini life history study); AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Animal Diversity Web; A-Z Animals; PMC (baleen hormone cycles study); NOAA Fisheries; PMC (genome longevity study); SpiderZoon