Whales

Baird’s Beaked Whale - Berardius bairdii

Baird's Beaked Whale is the largest of all the beaked whales weighing in at twice the weight of an elephant, and growing to a length longer than a bus. It was named after Spencer F. Baird, a well-known naturalist in the late 1800’s. The blow of the Baird's beaked whale is low and indistinct making them difficult to detect at sea. Some have never been seen alive, some only been able to be studied once their dead bodies are washed ashore. They generally live in deep water far from land and have escaped live studies. Their most remarkable feature is the teeth, which occur in both males and females. The lower jaw extends 10 cm further than the upper jaw, exposing two sets of teeth near the tip of the snout. Like many other whales, there are no teeth in the upper jaw, and like many beaked whales there are 2 v-shaped throat grooves. The front pair of teeth in the lower jaw are about 9 centimeters long. Their teeth shine a brilliant white against their dark bodies in bright sunlight.

This whale species has a small head, as well as a distinctive bulbous forehead that steeply tapers to a long, thin beak similar to that of a dolphin. When it surfaces for air, its head exits the water at a rather steep angle which allows its forehead, beak and teeth to be seen clearly. The large, round body of Baird's beaked whale tapers toward both the head and tail. They are blue-gray to brown to black in color on the dorsal side and light gray on the ventral side. A small, triangular fin is located toward the posterior end of the body. The flukes equal about 1/4 the body length and are slightly rounded at the tips with no notch in the center. The small flippers on the anterior end of the body are rounded at the tips. They contain natural parasites such as ship barnacles, acorn barnacles, and whale lice. Oval sucker scars caused by parasite crustaceans can be seen on many whale bodies.

The Baird’s Beaked Whales are mainly found in the North Pacific ranging from Japan to southern California and north toward the Bering Sea. They are a deep water species remaining at depths sometimes greater than 1000 meters. Sightings are usually infrequent due to the fact that they rarely enter shallow waters. Their lifespan may be up to 70 years. They prey on squid, octopus, mackerel, sardines, and deep sea fishes. Males reach sexual maturity at approximately 10-11 meters in body length, whereas females are usually at 10-10.3 meters. Females bear calves every 3 years, with calves measuring 4.5 meters at birth. The gestation period is estimated to be from 12-17 months. Studies have shown that these whales have a rather complex social structure, with male animals playing an important role in the nurturing and caring for their young.

Two-thirds of all whales caught have been male, despite the fact that females are somewhat larger than males and thus would be the preferred targets for whalers. Approximately 30,000 individual Baird’s Beaked Whales have been spotted.