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Berardius bairdii Hershkovitz, 1966
Baird's Beaked Whale; Giant Beaked Whale; Northern Pacific Bottle-Nosed Whale
Family: Ziphiidae
Introduction to the Mammals of BC

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Introduction


Baird's Beaked Whale is listed as a threatened species in the IUCN Red List, however its status in British Columbia is listed as unknown (BC Conservation Data Centre 2012, Taylor et al. 2008). Its global range includes the North Pacific Ocean (south to Baja California), Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea (Taylor et al. 2008, Wikipedia 2012). "Though they may be seen close to shore where deep water approaches the coast, Baird's Beaked Whales' primary habitats appear to be over or near the continental slope and near oceanic seamounts (Kasuya 2002) in temperate oceanic waters 1,000 to 3,000 m deep." (Taylor et al. 2008).

This species of beaked whale is dark brown in colour with irregular white patches on the belly and, as the largst of the beaked whales, may reach lengths of 13 m (MarineBio.org 2012, WildWhales.org 2012). It feeds on fish (including sardines and mackerel), cephalopods and crustaceans (Taylor et al. 2008).

This species continues to be hunted commercially (there is a quota) (Taylor et al. 2008).

Status Information

Origin StatusProvincial StatusBC List
(Red Blue List)		COSEWIC
NativeSUUnknownNAR (May 1992)



BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer--the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

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