The Bowhead Whale Of Little Diomede Island, United States of America (Balaena mysticetus)
- The Persaud Foundation
- Jul 10
- 8 min read
This month’s article series is going to discuss the small & obscure isle of Little Diomede Island, located in the Bering Strait. Little Diomede Island, colloquially known as Yesterday Island, is a small island far off the coast of Alaska. It is a part of the Diomede Archipelago. Despite being a mere 2.3 miles from Big Diomede, the islands are 23 hours apart in time. For this reason, Big Diomede is known as Tomorrow Island, while Little Diomede is known as Yesterday Island.
Little Diomede is incredibly isolated, as it is only 16 miles from mainland Alaska, & doesn’t have any roads leading to it. Usually, the only way to get to the island is by helicopter, & in the summer, by boat. Despite the harsh conditions, the island still currently has a population of 87. The majority of these people are indigenous Inupiat people.
Even though the temperatures can reach as low as -20° Fahrenheit, marine life has still found a way to survive in this environment. Whales, Seals, & Marine Mammals in general have the ability to thrive in these polar regions, due to their large amounts of blubber insulating them from the cold. One of the whale species known to roam around the island is the Bowhead Whale.
The Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus), is a species of Whale found throughout the Arctic & Far North regions of the world.
In this article, we are going to discuss the discovery & life of the Bowhead Whale, the mating habits, practices, procedures, tactics, techniques, & strategies of the Bowhead Whale, the distribution of the Bowhead Whale, & finally, the scientific detailings of the Bowhead Whale. With that being said, let us delve into this magnificent oceanic beast.
The Discovery & Life of the Bowhead Whale
The Bowhead Whale was first discovered by commercial whalers doing whaling in the Arctic Sea in 1611, though it wouldn’t be described until about 147 years later. It was officially described as a species in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish Taxonomist, Naturalist, Biologist, & Zoologist.
Bowhead whales are able to grow up to 62 feet long, & weigh up to 200,000 pounds. There is sexual dimorphism in Bowhead Whales, meaning that one sex is larger than the other. In this case, female Bowhead Whales are typically larger than male Bowhead Whales.
Bowhead whales are estimated to live for 200 years or more, which makes them the longest-living marine mammal, & one of the longest-living creatures on earth. According to current fossil records, this species has existed for approximately 2 million years.
While Bowhead Whales are considered to be intelligent animals, there is very little information on the specifics of their intelligence. They seem to have a similar intelligence to Blue Whales in many respects.
Individuals rarely interact with humans in the wild, primarily due to their remote environments. When they do interact with humans, they are usually not aggressive or violent. As they are highly migrational, they aren’t territorial, & don’t seem to have well-defined territories.
They are quite social animals, living in large groups known as pods. These groups are generally composed of 2 to 6 individuals, & are common in areas with abundant resources. However, these pods have a very loose structure, with individuals joining & leaving quickly.
Similar to most other marine mammals, Bowhead whales maintain their buoyancy by keeping a thick layer of blubber that is lighter than the water around them. They typically swim at a slow speed of 2 to 4 miles per hour, however, if afraid or faced with a threat, they can burst into a 13-mile-per-hour underwater sprint. Bowhead whales swim by flexing their powerful tails up & down, which propels their bodies forward. They are fairly agile, being able to traverse the water column with grace.
Unlike humans, whales don’t shut off their brains & sleep in one 8-hour long period. If they were to do this, they wouldn’t be able to react as quickly to predators or threats. Instead, they sleep by turning off only half of their brains, while keeping the majority of their brains active & alert. They are still able to hear & observe threats while resting, such that if a predator approaches, they can make a quick escape.
Bowhead whales are Baleen Whales, meaning they feed off of small planktonic organisms & krill. They are not cannibalistic, & cannibalism has never been recorded in this species. As they are so large, a typical bowhead requires 4,000 pounds of krill per day to keep operational. They feed by opening their massive mouths, & having krill simply fall into their mouths. Due to their massive size, almost nothing can prey on a fully grown bowhead whale, except for Orcas.
Bowhead whales are dark greyish, apart from their white underside. Their heads are large & bow-shaped, with their mouth being very large. This bow-shaped head enables them to break through pack ice easily. They have 2 small blowholes atop their head, used for blowing water out of their lungs. Their eyes are quite small, & rest on the sides of their heads.
As of 2026, Bowhead Whales are ranked as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List, with their population increasing. There are at least 10,000 mature Bowhead Whales.
The Mating Habits, Practices, Procedures, Tactics, Techniques, & Strategies Of The Bowhead Whale
Bowhead whales breed via sexual reproduction. They have 2 distinct sexes, & are not naturally hermaphroditic. Their breeding system is polyandrous, meaning that a female will take more than one male partner each breeding season. Individuals sexually mature quite late compared to humans, only reaching full maturity at 20 years.
After reaching maturity, males & females will begin looking for partners. While breeding is observed year-round, the majority of calves are conceived in late winter, & born from April to June. A male will sing a beautiful song to attract attention from females in the local area until he finds one willing to breed with him. They will then copulate, & the male will have no involvement in the children’s life afterward. The mother will gestate the calf for 12 to 16 months, before giving birth to a single calf. The average calf will be between 4 & 5.5 meters at the time of birth. She will nurse the calf for 6 months to a year, before it gains independence, & swims off into the ocean to start its own life.
Female Bowhead Whales typically have a 3 to 4-year interval between having children, to allow themselves time to heal.
The Distribution Of The Bowhead Whale
Bowhead Whales live almost exclusively in Arctic Regions, which is rather rare for Whales. They are found as far north as Svalbard, Norway, & as far south as Hudson Bay, Canada. Individuals are highly migrational, & do not stay in the same place their entire lives.
Bowhead whales are not known for their ability to dive into the deep sea, however, they are still very skilled & agile swimmers. They are able to dive as deep as 400 meters.
The Scientific Details Of The Bowhead Whale
Whales are quite infamous for a few things, with one of the main things being their ability to blow water out of a hole atop their head, known as the blowhole. The reason that they do this is that they must breathe through this hole, as they cannot breathe underwater like many marine animals. While diving, they contract the muscles around the blowhole to avoid water coming in, & drowning them. When they blow water from the blowhole, the resulting water can get up to 13 feet high. For clarity, the water blown from the blowhole is not coming from the whale's lungs, it is simply water around the whale that is being cleared so the whale can breathe.
Their bones are not hollow but instead are thin, which allows them to move easily & avoid extra weight. Baleen whales do not have conventional teeth, & instead have strong teeth plates used for filtering krill & planktonic organisms from the water. In addition to this, they have frill-like structures around their baleen plates, which catch any debris & prevent them from entering the whale’s mouth or causing harm. Bowhead Whales have the largest mouth of any living mammal.
Similar to humans, Bowhead whales must also deal with the issue of parasites & infections. The most common animals to find in this species are Copepods, Nematodes, & various kinds of worms. These parasites can cause a vast amount of issues, including lesions on internal organs. The majority of parasites prefer the internal organs of the Bowhead Whale, leaving their skin relatively clear & smooth.
Their phylum is Chordata, meaning that they developed these 5 characteristics all species under the phylum of chordata develop 5 similar characteristics either In adulthood or as juveniles. The characteristics that they develop include, a notochord, dorsal hollow nerve cord, endostyle or thyroid, pharyngeal Slits, & a post-anal tail.
Their class is Mammalia. Mammalia is classified by the production of milk by the mother for their child to nurse, a neocortex which is a region of the brain, some capacity for fur or hair, & three middle ear bones. There are currently 6,400 species categorized under the class of Mammalia.
Their order is Artiodactyla. which are even-toed ungulates. Species categorized under Artiodactyla are ungulates, hoofed animals which bear weight equally on two of their five toes, these toes are the third & fourth toes. The other three toes are either present, absent, vestigial, or pointing posteriorly.
Their infraorder is that of Cetacea. Key characteristics of this infraorder are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size & exclusively carnivorous diet. Another characteristic is their incredible social intelligence. There are roughly 90 species categorized under Cetacea.
Their family is Balaenidae, a family of Baleen Whales. It is composed of only 2 living species, those being the Bowhead Whale & the Right Whale.
Their genus is Balaena, & is monotypic, meaning that there is only 1 species categorized under it.
Their binomial name is Balaena mysticetus.
Directories / Credits
Citation No. 1: “Bowhead Whale”, Written By Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the World Wildlife Fund. Retrieval Date: October 11th, 2024.
Citation No. 2: “Bowhead Whale”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. Retrieval Date: October 11th, 2024.
Citation No. 3: “Bowhead Whale”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Retrieval Date: October 11th, 2024.
Citation No. 4: “Bowhead Whales”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Retrieval Date: October 11th, 2024.
Citation No. 5: “Marine Life Encyclopedia Marine Mammals: Bowhead Whales”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by Oceana. Retrieval Date: October 12th, 2024.
Citation No. 6: “Bowhead Whale”, Written by J. G. Cooke, & R. Reeves, & Last Updated January 1st, 2018. Published by the International Union For The Conservation Of Nature. Retrieval Date: October 12th, 2024.
Citation No. 7: “Balaena Mysticetus”, Written by James Justice, & Published in 2002. Published by the Animal Diversity Web. Retrieval Date: October 12th, 2024.
Strategic Partnerships
Reel Guppy Outdoors
SharkedSkooler
Marine Enthusiasts Podcast
Cash Daniels
Tides of Tomorrow
Olivenbaum Music
The Open Book, Topanga
Pitfire Artisan Pizza
Three J’s Kitchen
Our Loyal Patrons
P. R. Ochoa
Comments