Sexual behavior of bowhead whales observed off the north coast of Alaska. Arctic 32(3):277

• Main Authors: Robert D. Everitt, Bruce D. Krogman
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1979
• Subjects: Arctic; Balaena mysticetus; Barrow; Chukchi; Point Barrow; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.547.9176; http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic32-3-277.pdf

coast of Alaska to delineate migratory patterns of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. At 1620 hours on 8 May 1976 approximately 32 km east of Point Barrow (71°24.4N, 156"ll.O'W) we observed and photographed a group of six bowhead whales engaged in sexual behavior in an open water "lead " in the pack ice. Pack ice appeared to be solid east of the region where sightings occurred, suggesting that the animals were detained during migration. A series of 15, 35mm photographs taken with a motor drive attachment provided a clear record of the observation. To facilitate discussion of the sequence of events, the whales are numbered from left to right in a sketch (Fig. la) made from a representative photo (Fig. lb). The aspect of each whale will be described as dorsal, lateral, or ventral, depending on which surface of the whale was toward the observer. Whale 1 was positioned laterally with its dorsal surface toward the outer edge of the photograph. Its head was partially out of the water. Whale 2 was