📸 PhotoPhoto: NOAA United States. National Marine Fisheries Service · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons Source
Baird's Beaked Whale
Berardius bairdii (Baird's Beaked Whale · Baird's Beaked Whale)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 It has long been a whaling resource off the coast of Japan, where up to 382 whales were taken in a single year during the 1950s.
- 💡 A female body length of 12.8 m is slightly longer than a city bus (about 12 m) (Comparison).
- 💡 It is known to have a long lifespan averaging about 70 years.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
Baird's beaked whale is the largest member of the beaked whale family, living in the deep waters of the North Pacific.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body is long and cylindrical with a long, tube-like beak. A small triangular dorsal fin sits about two-thirds (2/3) of the way down the body, its blackish-brown skin bears white scars along the upper flanks, and the front of the lower jaw holds two pairs of teeth.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It forms pods of 5–20 individuals and dives deep, sometimes staying underwater for over an hour. It feeds mainly on squid, deep-sea fish, and crustaceans, and calves are born mostly in March–April.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is listed under the Korean name Gireum-gorae in the National List of Species of Korea and occurs in the East Sea. In the western Pacific, the central waters of Korea mark the southern limit of its range.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2020) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/2763/50351457
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • mammaldiversity.org — 1006464
- • iucnredlist.org — 50351457
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000053419 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000053419
- • wikidata.org — Q803927
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Berardius bairdii.jpg
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
- • animaldiversity.org — Berardius bairdii
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — author not recorded · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Mesoplodon mirus)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.