#bowhead whales

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[antiqueanimals]

The Child's Picture Scrap Book. Containing Upwards of Four Hundred Illustrations by John Gilbert, J. D. Watson, Wolf, Coleman, etc. 1865.

Internet Archive

[theyonagoda]

"In 2010, the Northwest Passage was largely free of sea ice by 10 August and the two whales moved into the Northwest Passage from opposite directions. Both whales were located in Viscount Melville Sound for more than two weeks in September... It is not known what attracted the whales to this area."

Inspired by @bandi-off's post.

[feather-bone]

Bowhead whale! The longest-lived mammal, reaching ages of over 200.

[ID: an illustration of a dark grey whale with a white chin swimming in profile to the right. The background is a wavy sea on the bottom and a sky of planets in orbit on top. End.]

[bandi-off]

I wonder which two cold boys souls met there for 10 days....

[hurglewurm]

and today i bring you: boars, ostriches, various whales (i was going for just baleen whales but my classmate begged for a beluga), and every species of bear from smallest to largest (image descriptions in alt)

[ztbastian]

"I Made some Whales"

[namu-the-orca]

Big Bearded Beasts

In other words: new baleen whale friends! These were for Pappyr, an Icelandic company that sells posters and postcards. They are currently working on a new poster showing Icelandic cetaceans (I've seen the preview, it's super sweet!) with my illustrations on it. Most I had ready to go, but a couple had to be made anew.

Amongst which these three ladies. Blue whales I've illustrated a bunch now, but the ones I've had were too small for this poster. So finally an illustration made at a large size (7000px) befitting the largest animal to ever have lived. Every time I work on them I discover something new to change compared to the last version!

Bowhead whales I feel I still haven't sussed out. There are so few good photos of them that actually show overall body proportions, and their faces seem different every time. They're fascinating animals though and I hope this one does them enough justice. They are probably the longest living mammal, reaching upwards of 200 years of age!!

The Gray whale is by far my favourite of this bunch. Last I illustrated them was over 10 years ago, in 2012. While I was still fond of the old illustration, working on this new one made me realise how much could be improved. They've such beautiful, unique faces, and painting all those spots and scratches that mark their skin (in part natural colouration, but mostly scars from barnacles and other hitchhikers) was a lot of fun. Gray whales too are record holders, making the longest migration of any mammal. Their yearly round trips between the Arctic feeding grounds and calving grounds off Baja California are good for 16,000 - 22,500 kms.

[theboarsbride]

Mermaid Sir John for @kapitanfreimann 🐋

[jjdogasaur]

Monstober day 11 with hopefully the last time I'm late on a monstober

[octonauts-daily]

[antiqueanimals]

The Sea and its Wonders. Written by Mary and Elizabeth Kirby. 1871.

Internet Archive

[respect-the-locals]

🐋Daily Cetacean Fact:🐋

Bowhead Whale: Of all large whales, the bowhead is the most adapted to life in icy water. Adaptations to this environment include an insulating layer of blubber that can be up to 1.6 feet thick. The bow-shaped skull can be over 16.5 feet long—about a third of a bowhead’s body length. The bowhead’s large, thick skull allows them to break through 8-inch-thick sea ice.

[zipperpillar]

New ref for my fursona🐳🐳🐳

[averysmallcetacean]

science is trending yayayay!!!!

science is awesome

space is awesome

the ocean is awesome

whales are awesome

they're so cool

cetology is awesome

fun fact: bowheads can live for 200 years possibly even longer, we know this cause there are individuals who are still alive with harpoon remnants embedded in them that can be dated to 200 years ago!!!!

btw I can remember if I have mentioned this but a couple of months ago I saw SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALES, my favourite species!!!!! I SAW 2 GREY MORPHS, TOGETHER, AAAAAAAAAA, It was the best day of the year and I was there BY CHANCE

IT WAS AMAZING

[inatungulates]

Bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus

Observed by andreytkachev, CC BY-NC