Bowhead whales live entirely in Arctic waters and face climate-driven habitat change, increased shipping from Arctic route opening, and traditional subsistence hunting.
Bowhead whales struck by ships on newly opened Arctic shipping routes experience acute trauma. Noise from increased Arctic shipping disrupts the acoustic communication and foraging of these long-lived, cognitively sophisticated animals. Sea ice decline reduces the habitat complexity they depend on for feeding and protection from predators. Bowheads carry harpoon tips from 19th century whaling in their blubber, suggesting remarkable longevity that also means individual welfare events have historical resonance across multi-generational lifespans. Climate change fundamentally alters the Arctic ecosystem they have adapted to over millennia.