Bowhead Whales in Prince Regent Inlet, Nunavut
September 9, 2019 — Peel Sound & Fort Ross, Nunavut
Dramatic scenery and thick fog in the Bellot Strait, Nunavut. This small fjord is a bottleneck for marine wildlife (like the two distant narwhal in this photo)!
It’s early in the morning in thick, ‘can’t-see-the-person-standing-next-to-you’ type fog. In the Arctic, fog shatters the best-laid plans — the constant threat of polar bears makes it unsafe to so much as launch a zodiac without good visibility. With our plans for the day in jeopardy, we sail around in a near-panic for the early hours of the morning, consulting weather reports, navigational charts, and local ice conditions in an attempt to salvage something out of our day. Nearby lies the entrance to fabled Bellot strait, a narrow stretch of water linking Peel Sound with Prince Regent Inlet; the heart of the Canadian Arctic, the furthest North tip of the North American mainland, and a critical component to nearly all Northwest Passage attempts. In search of better weather and a chance at some wildlife observations, we sailed through. As the fog slowly lifted around us, Adam Walleyn and I moved outside to spend our day outside on the bridge wings, foregoing meals and the warmth of our ship to scan every inch of land and sea for birds, whales, bears, and whatever else may be out there. Late in the morning, through the spotting scopes, the spouts of a dozen large whales appeared in the distance. It’s 72°N, well above the Arctic circle, and in this region there’s only one regular species of large whale; the bowhead.
The towering spout, reinforced rostrum and smooth back are giveaways for this Arctic icon.
You may not have heard of a bowhead whale, but back in the days before fossil fuels, the world ran on their oil. The original ‘right whale’, the bowhead was considered the best whale to hunt for its massive size, slow speed, docile nature, and immense oil yield. The species was most likely spared from extinction due only to the bowhead’s tendency to tolerate thick pack ice, living in conditions that would sink most ships, even today! The skull of a bowhead whale is strong enough to ram through ice even several inches thick, a helpful attribute for an animal that may spend its entire life in the frigid Arctic Ocean.
We made a slow approach to these whales, and drifted with them for most of the day. Adam and I are chatting, watching the immense spouts and flukes of these animals, and after a few hours begin to joke about how fun it would be to see one breach. These 60-70’ animals can weigh in at over 100 tons, and unlike the ubiquitous humpback, surface displays aren’t common at all. Imagine our shock when, about 30 seconds into our stupid conversation, this massive whale throws itself clear from the ocean — not once, but six times! Initially distant, the whale swam right by the ship, leaving us with the display captured below. Why do these whales do this? In my mind, it’s almost certainly a means of communicating a message to their neighbors; the concussive sound of a breaching whale can be heard underwater for many dozens of miles. At this time of the year, bowheads are enjoying ice-free waters, and often congregate in shallow areas to feed, socialize, and slough the past years’ worth of parasites from their skin by rubbing on the seafloor; spending some time among these aggregations is an extraordinary experience.
In a cruel and ironic twist, the consumption of fossil fuels that initially saved the bowhead is now slowly dooming these endangered whales. Recent models predict that the Earth’s multi-year sea ice, critical habitat for hundreds of Arctic species, will have disappeared from the Arctic in the next five years. Warming oceans and weakening surface currents present a new threat to these animals, which will change these environments forever.
In a cruel and ironic twist, the consumption of fossil fuels that initially saved the bowhead is now slowly dooming these endangered whales. Recent models predict that the Earth’s multi-year sea ice, critical habitat for hundreds of Arctic species, will have disappeared from the Arctic in the next five years. Warming oceans and weakening surface currents present a new threat to these animals, which will change these environments forever.