The Bowhead Whale: Both Movie Star and Endangered Animial

The Bowhead whale stars in several movies and is still endangered. In the The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea Ariel’s daughter, Melody, rides a whale while looking at a map to Atlantica. She however gets thrown off when the whale suddenly needs to breathe and Melody is on the blowhole! The main reason for the theory that the Bowhead whale is the whale featured in this movie is because it takes place in the Arctic.

Information about the Whale

The Bowhead whale thrives in the Arctic and never leaves the cold waters. They have a thick layer of blubber to protect them from the cold. They can weight over 6 tons and can grow up to 59 feet long. The reason they are called the bowhead is because of their ability to crash through 27 inches of ice. When they have to breath, the simply push up and break the ice. They are able to do this because of the touch ridge next to their two blowholes.

Their Endangerment

In 1970, the Bowhead Whale was officially put on the endangered list. Back in the early 1800′s there were over 50.000 whales in our seas. However, as it became sport to hunt these animals and as they have crashed into boats, that number has decreased to 10,000. These animals were hunted for their meat, blubber, oil, and bones. Because the Bowhead cannot swim terribly fast, they are unable to swim away from hunters very quickly.

People still Hunt them

Even though there are only around 10,000 of these whales left, people still hunt these magnificent creatures. In Alaska, it is a part of their culture to hunt and eat these animals. Because it is a tradition of the people, authorities have allowed them to hunt only a few whales at a time. However more and more countries in the north are starting to make hunting all whale illegal.