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Baird's beaked whale - BERARDIUS BAIRDII
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Whale": "Whale" comes from an old English word, derived from an even more ancient word, all of them simply referring to the animal.
Location: Northwestern Pacific Ocean as far as the Sea of Japan. Never found north of the Bering Strait.
Habitat: Aquatic. Offshore waters at least 1000 meters deep.
Description: The body is cylindrical with a distinctive pointed snout and a rounded forehead. The tail fin can be as wide as twelve feet. The body is a bluish dark-gray, with paler areas of varied size underneath. Scars on the body are often clearly visible. The first and second cervical vertebrae are Sometimes fused. On each side of the mandible, or lower jaw, there are two pairs of large teeth set about eight inches apart. This whale can reach 40 feet in length and weigh twelve tons. The female is usually slightly longer on average than the male.
Behavior: This whale moves about in small groups, or pods, of 10 to 30 individuals of both sexes. When diving for food, it makes several short dives, and then a longer dive which may last as much as 20 to 30 minutes. If threatened, it can remain submerged for more than an hour!
Reproduction: Mating occurs in February, and the single young, about 15 feet in length, is born in December. Gestation lasts about 520 days, the longest known for any cetacean.
Go to the Cetacea Page to learn more about the other whale-like animals.
Go to the Index to compare the various Whales found in America Zoo.
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