Virtual whale watch: Bowhead and other whales’ journey across the Arctic

Join us for a virtual whale watch over the coming months as bowhead and other whales migrate around Arctic waters. We will follow where these whales travel in the Arctic and what their movements are telling us.

Bowhead whales spend their entire lives in Arctic or subarctic waters, migrating north and south as the sea ice advances and retreats. They are designed to live in cold waters with bodies that have a substantial layer of blubber. They have a thick skull and have a dorsal ridge, instead of a fin on their back, which allows them to break through thick Arctic sea ice.

But with Arctic waters warming, bowhead and other whales have been spending more time further north – parts of the ocean where these species have not been seen before. These changes in how and where bowhead and other whales’ have broader impacts.

Competition is predicted to play a role. Having other whales present further north means that bowhead whales may have to compete for food. For instance, all other whales could be prey for killer whales – one of the new species that have moved north to the Arctic. Changes like these could alter the underlying dynamics of food webs in different parts of the Arctic.

Inuit that have long relied on bowhead whales for food, culture, and their livelihoods are also impacted by bowhead whales changing their migration patterns. It becomes more difficult to predict where bowhead whales will be year after year.

To understand how climate change and new predators are impacting the bowhead whales’ home and other whales’ northern ventures, it is important to understand migration patterns.

Virtual whale watch

Over the coming months, we will follow several bowhead whales, as well as other types of whales, on their Arctic journey.

We are supporting the work of Dr. Steve Ferguson, a scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the University of Manitoba, and colleagues to identify important habitats for whales and the migratory corridors in the Arctic and beyond.

This research will assist WWF’s Blue Corridors conservation approach, which aims to better understand whales’ migration patterns and to inform global and regional management plans that protect them. Through understanding Arctic Blue Corridors, WWF will work to mitigate threats and provide solutions to governments and industry that will safeguard whales on their journeys.

It is widely recognised that protecting and connecting areas is key to strengthening biodiversity resilience to change, giving species and ecosystems space to adapt. At the same time, human activities and industrialisation are expanding across the Arctic. This. Has put biodiversity under pressure and has occupied and fragmented an increasing number of areas across the Arctic.

WWF and partners are working towards conservation goals for Arctic priority species, like bowhead whales. This includes identifying, protecting, and connecting their important current and future habitats. Following bowhead and other whales in the Arctic will help fill some current information gaps about these Arctic animals and their key habitats.

Special thanks to Foxe Basin bowhead field research team in Igloolik that deployed satellite tags onto the whales, collected photographs both from the air and boat and sampled the whales using biopsy techniques along the floe edge in June-July 2022: Cory Matthews, Justine Hudson, Tommy Pontbriand, Todd King Ammaaq, Levi Qaunaq, Travis Qaunaq, and Morgan Martin. This project is managed by Brent Young and Steven Ferguson of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg. A big thank you to the Igloolik Hunters and Trappers Association, in particular the manager Jacob Maliki, for their support and assistance. Thank you as well to our Inuit colleagues based in Igloolik and Sanirayak, and to everyone who helped with truck rentals and moving gear. Financial support was provided by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board.

Follow along to learn more!