Bowhead Whale

  • Close Encounter with a Bowhead – 2022

    This summer, ​I ​was ​doing ​fieldwork ​in ​the ​Arctic, ​and ​we ​were ​out ​on ​the ​water ​in ​a ​small ​wooden ​boat, ​like ​a ​canoe ​with ​a ​motor ​on ​the ​back. There ​were ​a ​lot ​of ​Bowhead ​whales ​in ​the ​area ​where ​we ​were, ​and ​a ​juvenile ​bowhead ​whale ​swam ​up ​next ​to ​our ​boat ​and ​was ​turning ​on ​inside ​and ​looking ​up ​at ​us ​and ​kind ​of ​just ​making ​direct ​eye ​contact ​with ​us. ​It ​was ​super, ​super ​curious.  ​And ​all ​of ​a ​sudden, ​it ​just ​decided ​to ​swim ​under ​our ​boat ​and ​it ​lifted ​us ​up, ​completely ​out ​of ​the ​water ​and ​then ​dropped ​us ​back ​down ​into ​the ​water ​with ​a ​huge ​splash. ​And, ​it ​basically ​gave ​us, ​like, ​all ​a ​huge ​scare ​and, ​like, ​a ​massive ​adrenaline ​rush ​because ​the ​water ​was ​freezing ​around ​us ​and ​we ​couldn’t ​really ​fall ​out ​of ​the ​boat ​at ​that ​point. ​But ​that ​was ​by ​far ​the ​most ​exciting ​experience ​I’ve ​had ​on ​the ​water. -Morgan This post was adapted from a voice recording in episode 71 of the Whale Tales Podcast, listen here.

  • The Naming of Things: Bowhead Whale

    aka: The whale who’s name I was the most wrong about as a child! I have a confession to make. I’ve loved whales since I was four years old and I’ve spent a very, very large percentage of my life learning about them. That’s probably pretty obvious by now actually so no, that’s not the confession.…