Bowhead Whale! | Fairly Odd Facts

Wow! Stunning drone footage reveals bowhead whales feeding and swimming patterns. Read more about the research here: www.cbc.ca/1.3816601 | CBC Vancouver

Bowhead whales reside exclusively in Arctic and subarctic waters, living possibly over 200 years. A descriptive name given on account of the many ways the head suggest “bows;” the profile of the bowhead whale resembles the “bow of a boat,” the upper jaw is arched like an archer’s bow, and the baleen arches like a taught bow. There are 14 species of baleen whales (systematic name Mysticeti), and unlike toothed whales (think: dolphins, orcas, sperm whales), baleen whales have no teeth. Instead, th