Baird's Beaked Whale

• It is the largest beaked whale in the world.
• Males become heavily scarred from territorial fights with their only two visible teeth.
• Its age is worked out from earwax plugs, which have shown males of up to 84 years.
• biologíaIt is one of the largest beaked whales and, like others in its family, spends most of its life in deep water, so it remains little known to science.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (marine mammal)

Habitat & environment

Deep waters of the North Pacific, along the 1,000-3,000 m depth contours

Birth weight

Approximately 4-4.5 m long at birth

Size at birth

4 - 4.5 m long at birth

Sexual maturity

Female: 10-15 years | Male: 6-12 years

Gestation / incubation

12-17 months (some sources give around a year more loosely)

Litter / clutch size

1 young, with an interval between births of 3 years

Sources consulted: MarineBio; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); WhaleFacts.org; Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game; Wikipedia (Baird's beaked whale, Berardius); NOAA Fisheries; Animalia.bio; NatureServe Explorer; Animal Diversity Web

Best time: From May to October in the North Pacific, when it comes onto the continental slope; the rest of the year it stays in deep water.