bowhead
Massive Arctic whale
A bowhead is a large Arctic whale distinguished by its massive, bow-shaped skull, which it uses to break through sea ice.
Bowheads are among the longest-lived mammals, with some individuals estimated to exceed 200 years.
They lack a dorsal fin and have the thickest blubber of any whale, adaptations to their frigid habitat.
Bowhead populations have slowly recovered since commercial whaling ended.
Whale's filtering bristles
rostrum · filter feeding · insulation · fat layer · body mass · stocky · robust · tonnage
Aquatic mammal order
- krillSmall marine crustaceans
- copepodsMinute aquatic crustaceans
- planktonDrifting marine microlife
- filter feederAnimal straining waterborne nutrients
spout · fluke · breach · pod · migrate · vocalization · song · echolocation
Earth's northernmost zone
- Bering SeaNorth Pacific marginal sea
- ice floeFloating polar mass
- pack iceConsolidated floating sea ice
- sea iceFrozen ocean surface
Arctic Ocean · Inuit · subsistence hunting · umiak · Thule · permafrost · polar · lead
Person over ninety-nine
- ancientVery old indeed
- lifespanTotal existence duration
- eye lensOptic you look into
- long-livedHaving extended lifespan
survival · endurance · generations · slow metabolism · gerontology · biological clock
At risk of extinction
- recoveryRegaining what was lost
- populationAll inhabitants combined
- quotaFixed assigned amount
- protectedKept from harm
baleen
Whale's filtering bristles
bone · rostrum · filter feeding · insulation · fat layer · body mass · stocky · robust · tonnage · heavy
cetacean
Aquatic mammal order
filter feeder · spout · fluke · breach · pod · migrate · vocalization · song · echolocation · slow swimmer
Arctic
Earth's northernmost zone
- Bering SeaNorth Pacific marginal sea
- ice floeFloating polar mass
- pack iceConsolidated floating sea ice
sea ice · Arctic Ocean · Inuit · subsistence hunting · umiak · Thule · permafrost · polar · lead · frozen
centenarian
Person over ninety-nine
long-lived · survival · endurance · generations · slow metabolism · gerontology · biological clock
endangered
At risk of extinction
- recoveryRegaining what was lost
- populationAll inhabitants combined
- quotaFixed assigned amount
protected · CITES · marine sanctuary · monitoring · sustainable
- Cetaceanswhale, dolphin, dolphins, porpoise, whales
- marine mammalsdolphin, whales, whale, dolphins, porpoise
- whalesblue whale, humpback whale, gray whale, fin whale, right whale
bowheadhumpback whale
Large singing baleen cetacean
humpback · gray whale · blue whale · minke whale · fin whale
bowheadtoothed whale
Cetacean bearing dentition
sperm whale · orca · killer whale · dolphin · narwhal
head, bow, bowler, bowman, whalebone, bowsprit, bowline, whaleboat, whaleman