Baird's Beaked Whale
Baird's Beaked Whale is found in the North Pacific Ocean, and spends summer in inshore waters, and winter offshore. This species is most
commonly seen around Japan, central California, USA, and off Vancouver Island, Canada.
Classification: This species is named after the American naturalist Spencer F. Baird. He was also a secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
Local Names: Bottlenose Whale (North American whalers); Northern Giant Bottlenose Whale; North Pacific Bottlenose Whale; Giant Four-Toothed Whale; Northern Four-Toothed Whale; North Pacific Four-Toothed Whale; Tsuchimbo or Tsuchi-kujira (Japan). 'Tsuchi' is an old-fashioned hammer shaped like a bottle, and so refers to this species' prominant beak.
Description: Baird's Beaked Whale is the largest member of the beaked whales, with a long beak and bulging forehead. The lower jaw extends further than the upper, revealing the one of the two pairs of teeth even when the mouth is closed. These long-bodied animals have small flippers and a small blunt dorsal, and are slate grey in colour, which can look like brown or black at sea. The undersides are blotched with white. Adults are normally scarred from the teeth of their companions, cookie-cutter sharks and orcas. The females tend to be larger than the males, with a maximum length of 12.8m and 11.9m respectively; an 11.1m female weighed in at 11 tonnes.
Recognition at sea: Normally encountered in pods, these large beaked whales can be identified by their large size, the long beak and the visible teeth at the front of the lower jaw. Baird's Beaked Whales are easily distinguishable from the Bottlenose Whales as the latter have a smaller and less pronounced beak, and a more prominant dorsal.
Habitat: Baird's Beaked Whales are restricted to waters of the continental slope, and where the seabed is only a few thousand metres of the surface, in the North Pacific Ocean. The blow is bushy and easily detected on calm days, and the bulging melon and front of the beak tend to jut above the water when the animal blows.
Food & Feeding: Baird's Beaked Whales feed on bottom-dwelling creatures at depths between 1,000-3,000 feet, as well as mackerel, sardines, squid, skates, octopi, crustaceans and deepwater fish.
Behaviour: Baird's Beaked Whales are quite gregarious, tending to travel in groups of between five and twenty individuals, but with larger units of fifty being recorded. Usually wary and difficult to approach, pods of this species tend to surface together and remain in tight-knit formation; if threatened, will dive to extreme depths.
Longevity: Estimated to be between 35-80 years.
Estimated Current Population: Unknown.
The Influence of Man: Baird's Beaked Whales have been annually exploited by Japan, with catches reaching as high as 322 in 1952. The catch averaged out between 1972-81 to 39 whales per year, and since 1983 it has been governed by a quota of 40. Soviet whalers took 176 between 1933-1974, while the United States and Canada took a total of 39 during the 1940s, 50s and 60s. It is assumed that this species is in no immediate danger.
Source: CETACEA
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