Arctic Wildlife Sketches ~;:z • I; . ·. ·. ·._:.. _:.:_-·:-'··"' L 0 M co co M M 0 0 0 L!) L!) ,....... M .. M ... Alaska Resources Library & Information Services / of the NorthwestTerritories a ---·-- ------ ---- ------- --------- ----- --·--· ·-- - ---- ~~~~-~---- ... .' .. J Bowhead BalaenG mysricerus Bowheads were one of the first arcttc resources to be exploited 'by Europeam. and the most intensely hunted of all arctic whales. This exploitation had 11 profound effect on :he history of the r' Northwest Territories, and particularly on the Inuit. Their long association with whalers parallels that of the fur trade r and the Dene. Whaling began in the 17th century in the eastern arctic, but did not commcrKc on a regular basis until 1719. It was con­ ducted by American and European r whalers in the waters of Davis Strait, II Baffin Bay and Hudson Bay. After tluec li,' centuries of use, the fishery finally died out due to severely depleted stocks and the decreased demand for whale pro­ r ducts. In the western arctic, bowhead L whaling was conducted by Americans, beginning at the middle of the last cen­ tury and concluding about 1915. the r same time as in the east. Due to their slow speed; bowheads were easy targets, even when ships were powered by sail. Prized for their great yield of blubber and whalebone, they ,,~"''"' and a sister species were given the name ! "right whale" becau;;e they were the l ' right whales "to hunt. The label s:ill lingers today, as the bowhead is also known as the Greenland right whale. The bowhead may reach 20 m in length and 50,000 kg i~ weight. I_t. has an enormous head, takmg up a Lmd of its length. There are 650-720 baleen plates in its mouth, ~me ~ore tha~ 4 Y2 m long. The body coJour IS predomi­ nantly blue-black, except for some creamy patches ori the lower jaw: Its blubber is the thickesr of all whales. The bowhead has a d:iscontinuom circumpolar range in arctic waters. In Canada there are two separate popula­ ..... tions. Bowheads in the western arctic summer in the Beaufort Sea/Amundser1 i .of the NorthvvestTerritories Order Cetacea Gulf area and winter in the Bering Sea. Those in the eastern arctic summer in Lancaster Sound, Davis Strait and northern Hudson Bay; they winter in the , Whales belong to the Order Cetacea, The beluga and narwhal are closely loose ice or open waters of Davis Strait, of which there are about 80 species, in­ ::-elated. Both are toothed whales belong­ r eluding dolphins and porpoises. Only mg to the same family (Monodontidae), off the west coast of Greenland, and i three have extensive distribution in the and are similar in size, which is rather may venture as far south as northern L , Labrador. Canadian Arctic: beluga (De/phinapterus small by whale standards. The bowhead leucas), narwhal (Monodon monoceros), is a baleen w~ale, in which teeth have and bowhead (Balaena mysticetus). The ~ been replaced by whalebone or baleen, Migrating bowhead5: attain speeds_ of : killer whale (Orcinus orca) is seen occa­ which are fringed plates of agglutinated - 2-4 knots and can submerge for penods ,l · sionally in the Beaufort Sea, and is a of at least 30 minutes. They use this . rare but .:egular visitor to the eastern hairs suspended from the upper jaw. All three species lack a dorsal fin, which is capacity to move long distances between ·r--, arctic:; Davis Strait is the approximate openings in heavy ice. :1 northern Jimi.t for a number of other believed to be an adaptation t0 ice­ infested arctic waters. jJ~~=n=l~·----------------------------------------------------------------------~----------------~ Very little information is available on Although the commercial fishery Newborns, however, are brown and the biology and population dynamics of ceased to operate in 1915, Inuit in the juveniles are grey witn mottled patches this whale. It is assumed they are "long­ eastern arctic continued to take of white. The final change to an lived" with a low reproductive rate. bowheads sporadically for subsistence unblemished white occurs in the 4th or Physical maturity in both sexes is up until the 1970's. In 1979 all hunting 5th year. reached at a length of about 15 m. of bowheads in Canadian waters was Mating most probably occurs from prohibited, except under spedal permit Circumpolar in distribution, the February to March. The gestation period issued by the Minister of the Dept. of beluga is the most common whale in lasts 10-12 months with the calves born Fisheries and Oceans. No permits have Canadian arctic waters. During summer in March or April. A single calf 4 m been issued, and the species is con­ in the Northwest Territories there are long is born. Lactation usually lasts sidered endangered. thought to be separate populations oc­ 12-14 months. curring in Lancaster Sound, Cumberland The United States permits Alaskan In­ Sound, Ungava Bay, Hudson Bay and Bowheads are gregarious, feeding in uit to conduct a limited subsistence hunt the Beaufort Sea. The four eastern small groups. Their food is mainly small for bowheads of the western arctic populations winter of:" the west coast of crustacea called krill. They feed near the population. The hunt is controversial at Greenland and in Hudson Strait, surface using their large mouths as a time when many :feel that any harvest whereas the single we~tern population scoops. After taking in a brge quantity at all may jeopardize the continued ex­ w;nters off the cor:.st of Russia in the of water, the mouth is closed and the istence of this species. · Bering Sea. In addition to travelling water forced back out, trapping the greater distances, the .atter group also small crustaceans on the br;leen fringes. e:\periences more seve:-e ice conditions. The massive tongue is then used to move Beluga Delphinapterus leucas Generally, belugas arrive in the trapped prey to the guliet. Belugas vary in length and weight summering areas by June and July, and according to location. They are medium­ The eastern and western arctic popula­ m~ve out to wintering areas by the end sized throughout most of the Canadian of September before freeze-up. In tions are believed to be separate stocks. arctic, at lengths of 4-5 m and weights The latter is the largest remaining M·uch and April they can be seen in the of 540-765 kg. They reach greater sizes narrow leads along the edge of the fast­ population in the world, ar.d is roughly elsewhere in their :range, except in estimated at 2000-3000 aninals. The ic< . Their presence can be detected by Hudson Bay where they are smaller. br·!athing holes which they make when eastern arctic population, which suffered Females are not as large as males. more intense exploitation for a longer thi' ice is thin. During periods of maximum ice cover, p::>ds of.,whales period, is believed to number only a few Belugas are also called white whales, frequent isolated areas of open water, hundreds. which refers to their adult colouration. ; . [ [ [ :r·.·' ! r called polynyas, and are usally separated gregated, boats were used to herd the usually spiralled in a counter-clockwise !, · from one another by extensive areas of whales close to shore in large numbers direction, is a myster). Although many impenetrable ice. where they were stranded at low tide. In have speculated that i: may be used for addition to oil, the skin was utilized for defence or for securing food, it is most ""'""~ Belugas give birth between March and leather, which became for a brief time a likely a secondary sexual characteristic. 'August, with a peak occurring in June specialty item. Behavioural and anatomical evidence and July. Calving is believed to take suggests it is used in aggressive r place in warm shallow rivers. Some well- Later on in the 20th century, small encounters by males when trying to il • known calving areas are the Mackenzie commercial operations were set up in obtain mates. ' ' Delta, Cunningham Inlet, and the Seal Churchill, Whale Cove and Pangnir­ and Nelson Rivers in western Hudson tung. The latter ceased operation in the The body length of male~may reach 5 r" Bay. early 1960's, while the first two lasted m, while th' tusk is another 2 or 3 m. t ' until 1970. Since then all commercial Females are smaller, \"ith an average Females usually reach maturity by age whaling in Canadian waters has been weight of 600 kg. Males may weigh r 5 and males by age 8 or 9. Conception banned, and only subsistence hunting by more than twice as much as females. 11 occurs in early May with the gestation Inuit and Dene allowed. In 1980 a quota l ·period lasting 14Yz months. Lactation of 40 was applied to the Pangnirtung The narwhal has a more restricted lasts about 2 years and most females harvest. This is the only quota distribution than the beluga. It is rproduce a single calf once in 3 years. It restriction for the species. primarily a whale of the eastern arctic t is suspected that the male is with the largest concentrations occurring 'polygamous. Summer population estimates are as in Lancaster Sound ~nrl off the coast of follows: about 10,000 in the high arctic, northeastern Baffin Island. A secondary r During summer, belugas occur in 10,000 in western Hudson Bay, 5,000 in centre of abundance is in the Repulse l ;shallow water, or in coastal or estuarine the western arctic, and I ,000 or less in Bay area and around northern South­ areas, where they prey on bottom- Cumberland Sound. The total Canadian ampton Island.