Northern bottlenose whale

How it lives

Females mature at about 8 to 12 years and males at about 7 to 11 years. Average lifespans are about 27 years for females and 37 for males. Groups are small. Northern bottlenose whales are among the deepest divers known: they regularly dive beyond 1,000 m for about an hour, and the longest dive recorded lasted 94 minutes at 2,340 m.

Where it goes

Northern bottlenose whales live only in the North Atlantic, mostly north of 40 degrees north. Six main concentration areas are known: Iceland, Svalbard, two off Norway, the Scotian Shelf and the Labrador and Davis Strait area. They move seasonally, and they rarely use water shallower than about 800 m.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

Globally Near Threatened (IUCN, 2021). Whaling in the 1850s to the 1970s took tens of thousands of animals. Recent estimates include about 19,500 around Iceland and the Faroe Islands (2017), about 7,800 in northern European waters (2014 to 2018) and about 164 on the Scotian Shelf, Canada (2011). The regional European Red List treats it as Least Concern, and Iceland lists it as Data Deficient. Total numbers are poorly known.