Bowhead Whales
Bowhead
Whales
are beautiful.
Also called Greenland Right Whales (B. mysticetus), they are a single species of right whales within genus Balaena.
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They are large, stocky animals - not the second longest, but the second heaviest whales on the Earth. They are dark gray and they have the largest mouth in the world. The lower jaw is strongly bowed and it has the world's longest baleens hanging off the upper jaw. Females are larger than males and both sexes have huge strong skulls, which they use to break ice. Because they live in cold waters, they have also got a very thick layer of fat under their skin - one of the thickest in all whales.
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They eat in a different way from other baleen whales that target swarms of krill of fish - bowheads swim with their mouths open all the time and and catch zooplankton. They live very long - at least some individuals have been found up to 200 years old. Their only predators are killer whales, and humans. About 60% of them were killed during the old whaling days when they were popular whales to hunt due to their oil, baleen, meat, blubber, slow swimming speed and the fact that they float when dead.
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Bowhead whales live in far north in Arctic waters, where they migrate north in spring. They are slow swimmers, and often swim alone or in small groups. They don't dive deep, but they can spend quite a long time under water. They are very vocal animals, using different sounds to communicate and they are also known to make long whale songs, particularly during their migration to breeding grounds. Their breeding season is during the summer. Females have a calf every 3-4 years.
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