A Large Aggregation of Bowhead Whales (<i>Balaena Mysticetus</i>) Feeding near Point Barrow, Alaska, in Late October 1992
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic1293Keywords:
Animal behaviour, Animal distribution, Animal food, Animal migration, Animal population, Bowhead whales, Barrow, Point, waters, AlaskaAbstract
On 17 October 1992, during aerial surveys to monitor the bowhead whale migration across the Beaufort Sea, we encountered a large aggregation of feeding bowheads about 35 km NE of Barrow, Alaska. Nineteen sightings, for a total of 56 bowhead whales, were made over an area of open water and new ice. Most of the whales were engaged in bottom or near-bottom feeding. We returned to the area on 19 October and observed 16 groups and 11 singletons, for a total of 104 whales distributed over a 277 sq km area. The largest single group contained at least 30 whales. To our knowledge, our fall 1992 observations of feeding activity by a large aggregation of bowhead whales were made later in the calendar year than previously reported in the scientific literature and further demonstrate the periodic importance of areas near and east of Point Barrow as a feeding area in the fall.
Key words: bowhead whale, feeding, aggregation, fall migration, Beaufort Sea, Alaska
