Status of the northern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus

Abstract

Northern bottlenose whale is a deep-diving, medium-sized teuthophage endemic in the North Atlantic Ocean. Its known distribution is centered in areas with cold, deep water along and seaward of the edge of the continental shelf. Migratory movements are poorly documented, as are stock relations among the animals found in apparently disjunct centers of spring and summer abundance. In the W North Atlantic, bottlenose whales are present during much of the year in The Gully near Sable Island (Nova Scotia) and in the Labrador Sea. The northern bottlenose whale remains widely distributed and locally abundant in some areas. It has been protected from commercial whaling since 1977 and is no longer hunted regularly on a large scale anywhere in its range. The species does not appear to be threatened or endangered at present. -from Authors