How many baby Bowhead whales are in a litter?
A Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) usually gives birth to around 1 babies.
Each of those little ones spend around 379 days as a fetus before they are released into the wild. Upon birth, they weight 1 grams (0 lbs) and measure 9 cm (0′ 4″). They are a member of the Balaenidae family (genus: Balaena). An adult Bowhead whale grows up to a size of 12.2 meter (40′ 1″).
To have a reference: Humans obviously usually have a litter size of one ;). Their babies are in the womb of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks) and reach an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). They weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual, and reach an average age of 75 years.
The bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and the only living representative of the genus Balaena. The bowhead is the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and subarctic waters. The species is named after its characteristic massive triangular skull, which is used to break through Arctic ice. Other common names of the species are the Greenland right whale or Arctic whale. American whalemen called them the steeple-top, polar whale, or Russia or Russian whale.The bowhead has the largest mouth of any animal representing almost one-third of the length of the body, the longest baleen plates with a maximum length of 4 m (13.1 ft) and may be the longest-lived mammal, with the ability to reach an age of more than 200 years.The bowhead was an early whaling target. The population was severely reduced before a 1966 moratorium was passed to protect the species. Of the five stocks of bowhead populations, three are listed as “endangered”, one as “vulnerable”, and one as “lower risk, conservation dependent” according to the IUCN Red List. The global population is assessed as of least concern.
Other animals of the family Balaenidae
Bowhead whale is a member of the Balaenidae, as are these animals:
- North Atlantic right whale with 1 babies per pregnancy
- Southern right whale weighting around 23000 kilograms (50706.26 lbs)
Animals that share a litter size with Bowhead whale
Those animals also give birth to 1 babies at once:
- Rock-haunting ringtail possum
- Bioko Allen’s bushbaby
- Goeldi’s marmoset
- Little brown bat
- Jameson’s red rock hare
- Naked-rumped pouched bat
- Jaguar
- Ursine colobus
- Southern naked-tailed armadillo
- Red forest duiker
Animals that get as old as a Bowhead whale
Other animals that usually reach the age of 40 years:
- Yellow baboon with 45 years
- Pygmy hippopotamus with 43.75 years
- Guinea baboon with 40 years
- Black crested gibbon with 44.08 years
- Rough-toothed dolphin with 32 years
- Bonobo with 48 years
- Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth with 32.08 years
- Lion-tailed macaque with 40 years
- Japanese macaque with 33 years
- Harp seal with 42 years
Animals with the same size as a Bowhead whale
Also reaching around 12.2 meter (40′ 1″) in size do these animals:
- Sperm whale gets as big as 12.18 meter (40′ 0″)
- North Atlantic right whale gets as big as 13.92 meter (45′ 9″)
- Bryde’s whale gets as big as 13.85 meter (45′ 6″)
- Humpback whale gets as big as 12.87 meter (42′ 3″)
- Southern right whale gets as big as 14.15 meter (46′ 6″)
- Gray whale gets as big as 11.84 meter (38′ 11″)