Baird’s Beaked Whale Flipper Replica Cast

Baird’s beaked whale or Berardius bairdi is found in the northern Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan and the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk. Specimens have been recorded as far north as the Bering Sea and as far south as the Baja California peninsula.

Baird’s beaked whale is the largest of the beaked whales, has an estimated population around 30,000 individuals, sometimes reaching a maximum length of 42 feet. This species may be the only large beaked whale found in the North Pacific.

The small, rounded flippers are set toward the front of the body. The flukes, about ¼ of the whales’ body length, are not notched and have almost straight trailing edges.

Baird’s beaked whale are unique among toothed whales in that most species only have one pair of teeth. The teeth are tusk-like, but are only visible in males, which are presumed to use these teeth in combat for females for reproductive rights. In females, the teeth do not develop and remain hidden in the gum tissues.

The throats of all beaked whales have a bilaterally paired set of grooves that are associated with their unique feeding mechanism, suction feeding.

Instead of capturing prey with their teeth, beaked whales suck it into their oral cavity. Suction is aided by the throat grooves, which stretch and expand to accommodate food.

Their tongues can move very freely. By suddenly retracting the tongue and distending the gular (throat) floor, pressure immediately drops within the mouth, sucking the prey in with the water.

Dietary information is available from stomach contents analyses of stranded Baird’s beaked whales and from whaling operations.

Their preferred diet is primarily deep water squid, but also benthic and benthopelagic fish and some crustaceans, mostly taken near the sea floor.

Baird’s beaked whales are very long lived. Whaling records have documented females up to 54 years old and males up to 84 years old. Males appear to have a lower mortality rate and mature more quickly than females.

Female Baird’s beaked whales reach sexual maturity at 10 to 15 years versus 6 to 11 years for males.

A sexually mature female, or cow, will give birth to a single calf that is about 15 feet long, usually between March and April after an approximately 17-month pregnancy. Females typically give birth once every three or more years, and do not have a post-reproductive stage.

Baird’s beaked whale facts:

Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
CITES Appendix I (CITES)
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Family: Ziphiidae
Genus: Berardius
Species: B. bairdii
Binomial name: Berardius bairdii