In 2009, a bowhead whale sanctuary (a place where commercial whaling is prohibited), was created in Isabella Bay close to Clyde River. The worldwide number of bowheads prior to commercial exploitation is estimated at a minimum of 50,000, including an estimated 10,400 to 23,000 whales in the Western Arctic stock, the stock found in U.S. waters. The largest and most well-studied population is found off Alaska and Russia in the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Habitat and Distribution The bowhead is a cold-water species, living in the Arctic Ocean and surrounding waters. The bowhead whale is the only baleen whale to spend its entire life in the Arctic and subarctic waters. In summer they are found in straits, bays and estuaries. There are additional populations between Canada and Greenland, north of Europe, in the Hudson Bay and Okhotsk Sea. Speak up for species and places through WWF's Action Center.Make a symbolic whale adoption to help save some of the world's most endangered animals from extinction and support WWF's conservation efforts.World Wildlife Fund Inc. is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization (tax ID number 52-1693387) under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Like other large whales, bowhead whales are threatened by habitat loss, toxics and climate change, as well as offshore oil and gas exploration and increased shipping in Arctic waters.Since the 1980s, WWF has worked with the community of Clyde River in Northeast Baffin Island, Canada to help document and protect a critical feeding area for bowhead whales.

Its movement patterns are therefore influenced by the melting and freezing of the ice.Bowhead whales are capable of breaking through sea ice at least seven inches thick with their large skulls and powerful bodies.Adult bowheads are entirely black except the front part of the lower jaw which is white and prominently upturned. This predominantly Arctic species is associated with ice floes. Commercial whaling severely reduced bowhead whale numbers from historical levels. Bowhead whales may reach lengths of up to 20 metres and females are larger than males. Some populations are faring better as a result of the International Whaling Commission (IWC)’s commercial whaling moratorium.

Based on the recovery of stone harpoon tips in their blubber, and from analysis of eye tissue, scientists believe that the life-span of bowhead whales can be over 200 years.The Arctic Ocean—the pristine home to bowhead whales, gray whales, polar bears, walruses, and other magnificent wildlife, along with many indigenous communities—could potentially lose crucial protections from risky offshore oil and gas drilling.Whales are at the top of the food chain and have an important role in the overall health of the marine environment. Bowhead whales have massive bony skulls which they use to break from beneath the ice to breathe. In addition, WWF is working to minimize ocean noise pollution from offshore oil and gas exploration and increased Arctic shipping.Join us to make change. Some hunters have reported whales surfacing through 60 centimetres (2 feet) of ice in this method. Commercial whaling drove global abundance down to less than 3,000 by the 1920s.The United States listed all bowhead whales as endangered under the Endangered Specie… Bowhead Whales are famous for their complex and beautiful songs, which they use to communicate with each other. WWF works to make the IWC more effective in reducing threats to whales. Bowhead Whales are one of the longest living mammals in the world! Bowheads filter their food through baleen by opening their mouths and straining plankton from the surface, the water column, or the sea floor.Data has shown that bowhead whales may be among the longest-lived animals on earth. Bowhead whales have a large skulls and bow-shaped jaws which on average measure in around 30% – 40% percent of the length of its entire body.The large jaw helps these marine mammals consume large quantities of prey in a single gulp.When fully matured the bowhead whale can grow to lengths of up to 66 ft. and weigh as much as 100 tons.Their body is fairly thick and rotund in shape and is largest in the middle but tapers down towards the flukes.When compared to oth…

The bowhead whale’s conservation status is listed as “least concern” overall, but some populations (such as near Greenland) are endangered. Their massive bow-shaped heads are … Today, native communities in both the U.S. and Russia hunt bowheads for subsistence purposes. The bowhead whale is found in the Arctic Ocean and its associated seas.

The bowhead is the only whale of the baleens to spend its whole life in arctic and sub-arctic seas. The group migrates northward in the spring, following openings in the ice, into the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. The whale's range varies depending on climate changes and on the forming/melting of ice. In 2009, a bowhead whale sanctuary (a place where commercial whaling is prohibited), was created in Isabella Bay close to Clyde River.The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is the body charged with regulating whaling and addressing the vast number of other threats to whales, dolphins and porpoises in our oceans such as shipping, climate change, and bycatch.