Baird’s Beaked Whales: The Rare Deep-Sea Whale With 13 Stomachs
Rare underwater images and the full story of Baird's beaked whales: 40-foot Pacific deep-divers with 13 stomachs, found off Mexico, California, and Japan.
The Elusive Baird’s Beaked Whale
By William Drumm, underwater photographer and ocean ambassador
Baird’s Beaked Whales Are Rarely Seen, Even More Rarely Photographed!
Baird’s beaked whale is one of the rarest whales most people will never see. It lives in the deep waters of the North Pacific, dives to depths that would crush most other animals, and surfaces so rarely that even working marine biologists go entire careers without a confirmed sighting. The images in this post are some of the very few underwater photographs of the species that exist anywhere.
This is the full story of what Baird’s beaked whales are, why they’re so rarely seen, what makes them biologically extraordinary, including the famous thirteen stomachs, and why their survival matters far beyond their corner of the deep Pacific.
What is a Baird’s beaked whale?
A Baird’s beaked whale (Berardius bairdii) is a deep-diving toothed whale native to the cold, productive waters of the North Pacific Ocean. Adults grow up to 40 feet long and weigh up to 12 metric tons, making them the largest member of the beaked whale family and one of the deepest-diving whales on the planet.
Their range is the temperate and subarctic North Pacific. They are documented off the Pacific coast of Mexico, the U.S. West Coast from California to Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the waters around Japan. Within that range they spend most of their lives offshore in water more than 3,000 feet deep, which is the main reason they are so seldom seen.
They were named in 1883 for Spencer F. Baird, the American naturalist and second Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. For decades they were confused with smaller beaked whale species, until their size and skull structure separated them out as their own animal.
Beaked whales as a family get their name from their narrow, pronounced rostrum, the literal beak that gives the snout a dolphin-like profile, but on a body the size of a small bus.
How many stomachs does a Baird’s beaked whale have?
A Baird’s beaked whale has between 11 and 13 stomachs, one of the most complex digestive systems of any animal on Earth. For comparison, a cow has four stomach compartments and a human has one.
Researchers believe the multi-stomach system evolved to handle the whale’s diet of deep-sea squid and fish, which are eaten whole and need to be processed through a series of muscular and glandular chambers. The first stomach is the largest and most muscular, used for initial mechanical breakdown. The remaining chambers handle progressive digestion, with the final compartments doing nutrient absorption similar to a mammalian small intestine.
More on the digestive anatomy: Juneau Empire — “Churn it over: this beaked whale has 13 stomachs”
How deep does a Baird’s beaked whale dive?
Baird’s beaked whales routinely dive to depths beyond 3,000 feet, with documented dives exceeding one mile. Individual dives can last more than an hour. Cuvier’s beaked whales, a smaller cousin in the same family, hold the mammalian dive record at 9,816 feet and three hours and 42 minutes, but Baird’s are not far behind, and their larger body size means they carry substantially more oxygen on each descent.
They are after deep-sea squid, ratfish, skates, and other bottom-associated prey that live in zones almost no other large mammal can reach. The dive itself is built on a series of evolutionary adaptations:
- Collapsible rib cages that allow the lungs to compress without injury under crushing pressure.
- High concentrations of myoglobin in their muscles, which stores oxygen for use during the dive.
- A bradycardic response that slows the heart to as few as four beats per minute during deep portions of a dive.
- Selective shunting of blood to the brain and heart, away from peripheral tissue, to conserve oxygen.
This is the same suite of adaptations that lets sperm whales hunt giant squid at depth, but Baird’s beaked whales appear to push it further, with longer routine dive times and a more specialized prey base.
Why are Baird’s beaked whales covered in scars?
Look closely at any adult Baird’s beaked whale and you’ll see a body covered in long, parallel white lines. These are called rake marks, and they are scars from the teeth of other Baird’s beaked whales.
Adult males of the species have two pairs of large, exposed teeth at the tip of the lower jaw. The front pair, often called tusks, erupts from the gum and remains visible even when the mouth is closed. These tusks are used in social interactions and male-on-male competition, and the rake marks across nearly every individual in a mature pod are the record of those encounters.
This is a defining feature of the entire beaked whale family. The teeth aren’t really used for feeding. Baird’s beaked whales suction-feed their prey whole, so the tusks function more like elk antlers or narwhal horns: a display structure with combat use, important for mate selection and social rank.
The tusks of the Baird’s beaked whale
The image below shows the front pair of tusks clearly erupted from the lower jaw of an adult male. Both sexes of Baird’s beaked whales develop these teeth, which makes them unusual within the beaked whale family. In most beaked whale species the teeth erupt only in males. The Baird’s tusks erupt in both sexes, though they are typically more prominent in males.
Each tusk is roughly two to three inches long and is exposed throughout the animal’s adult life. The smaller second pair of teeth sits a few inches behind the front tusks and is often barely visible. Otherwise the jaw is toothless, which is why suction feeding is the only practical way for the whale to eat.
How rare is the Baird’s beaked whale?
Estimates put the eastern North Pacific population at around 1,100 animals, with additional populations in the western Pacific around Japan and in the Sea of Okhotsk. Total global population is somewhere in the range of a few thousand. The species is listed as Least Concern by the
IUCN Red List, but with the explicit note that population data is incomplete and trends are unknown.
Rare is also a function of behavior, not just numbers. Baird’s beaked whales:
- Spend the overwhelming majority of their lives at depth, surfacing only briefly to breathe between long foraging dives.
- Avoid boats, with most pods diving and disappearing as soon as a vessel approaches.
- Live offshore, far from the coastal waters where most marine wildlife observation happens.
- Don’t breach, splash, or otherwise advertise their presence at the surface the way humpbacks or orcas do.
The combination of small numbers and cryptic behavior is why underwater photographs of the species are so few, and why even the encounter that produced these images is something most marine biologists never get in a career.
Bring the water home
What do Baird's beaked whales eat?
Baird's beaked whales are deep-sea predators with a diet dominated by squid, ratfish, skates, and other bottom-associated fish. Stomach content studies from beached individuals show that squid often makes up more than 80% of the diet by volume, with the remainder mostly demersal fish from the deep continental slope.
They feed by suction. The whale approaches its prey, opens its jaw, and creates a sudden pressure drop in its oral cavity that pulls the prey in whole. The 11 to 13 stomach chambers then handle the breakdown, which is why the digestive system is so much more complex than that of a baleen whale or a typical toothed predator.
Most foraging happens between 3,000 and 5,000 feet down, in a band of the water column that overlaps with the diel vertical migration of mesopelagic prey species. This puts Baird's beaked whales squarely in the deep scattering layer, the same biological zone that supports sperm whales and many of the larger pelagic sharks.
What are the biggest threats to Baird's beaked whales?
Despite living in some of the most remote waters on Earth, Baird's beaked whales face threats from human activity that the open ocean does not buffer. The four most significant are:
Noise pollution and naval sonar
Beaked whales are uniquely sensitive to mid-frequency active sonar. Mass strandings of beaked whales have been documented in close proximity to naval sonar exercises around the world, with internal injuries consistent with rapid surfacing or decompression-style trauma.
Peer-reviewed work on the impact of anthropogenic noise on beaked whales (Journal of Cetacean Research and Management) continues to find that even non-lethal sonar exposure
Whaling
Baird's beaked whales are still legally hunted by Japan, which classifies them as a small cetacean outside the International Whaling Commission's moratorium on commercial whaling. The annual Japanese take is in the dozens of animals per year, taken under a coastal whaling quota set by the Japanese Fisheries Agency. Given the slow reproductive rate of the species and the small total population, even this level of take is considered a significant pressure by most cetacean researchers outside Japan.
Climate change and prey shifts
Warming ocean temperatures and shifting currents in the North Pacific are already changing the distribution of deep-sea squid and bottom fish that Baird's beaked whales depend on. If the prey base moves or thins, the whales have nowhere to go that isn't already occupied or more dangerous.
Plastic and contaminants
Necropsies of stranded beaked whales around the world have found plastic debris in stomach contents and elevated levels of persistent organic pollutants in blubber. Deep-diving cetaceans tend to bioaccumulate contaminants because they sit near the top of a long food chain that concentrates pollutants at each step.
Other beaked whale species you may be searching for
Baird's beaked whale is the largest of about 24 known beaked whale species worldwide. Most are smaller, even less frequently seen, and many were only described in the last several decades. A few of the species most often confused with or compared to Baird's:
Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris)
The most widely distributed beaked whale, found in every major ocean except the high Arctic and Antarctic. Smaller than a Baird's, reaching about 23 feet, and the current mammalian dive record holder at 9,816 feet for nearly four hours. Cuvier's is the species most often involved in mass strandings linked to military sonar.
Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens)
Named for the ginkgo-leaf shape of the two erupted teeth in adult males. Range is the Indo-Pacific. So rarely seen that the first confirmed live sighting was published only in 2024, making it one of the more dramatic recent stories in cetacean research.
Sowerby's beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens)
A small (roughly 16 feet) North Atlantic beaked whale, the first beaked whale species ever scientifically described, in 1804. The teeth are positioned near the middle of the lower jaw rather than at the tip.
Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris)
Found in tropical and warm temperate waters worldwide. Adult males have unusually arched lower jaws with two large teeth at the apex, often encrusted with stalked barnacles, making it one of the more visually striking beaked whales when seen at the surface.
Arnoux's beaked whale (Berardius arnuxii)
The closest living relative of Baird's: same genus, similar body plan, similar size. The key difference is geography: Arnoux's lives only in the Southern Hemisphere, in cold waters around the Antarctic Convergence. Functionally, the two species are mirror images on opposite ends of the planet.
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Why Baird's beaked whales matter to the ocean
It is tempting to look at a species that lives 3,000 feet down in waters most people will never visit and decide it doesn't really concern us. The data says otherwise.
Baird's beaked whales are part of the whale pump, the vertical transport of nutrients from the deep ocean to the surface that happens when whales feed at depth and defecate near the surface. Deep-foraging cetaceans move nitrogen, iron, and other limiting nutrients upward, fertilizing phytoplankton growth at the surface. That phytoplankton produces a significant share of the planet's atmospheric oxygen and forms the base of every marine food web.
Beaked whales also serve as deep-ocean indicators. Because they sit at the top of the deep-sea food chain and depend on a healthy mesopelagic prey base, declines in beaked whale populations are early warnings about changes in the deep ocean, changes that satellite imagery and surface surveys cannot detect.
Protecting Baird's beaked whales is, in practical terms, protecting the deep ocean ecosystem they help measure and maintain.
Frequently asked questions about Baird's beaked whales
Where do Baird's beaked whales live?
Baird's beaked whales inhabit the temperate and subarctic North Pacific. Confirmed range includes waters off Mexico, the U.S. West Coast from California to Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, the Sea of Okhotsk, and Japan. They are pelagic and typically found in water more than 3,000 feet deep.
How big is a Baird's beaked whale?
Adults reach up to 40 feet long and weigh up to 12 metric tons. They are the largest member of the beaked whale family and among the largest toothed whales after sperm whales and orcas.
How deep can a Baird's beaked whale dive?
Routine foraging dives go beyond 3,000 feet, with documented dives over one mile deep. Individual dives can last more than an hour.
Are Baird's beaked whales endangered?
The species is currently listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, but with the caveat that population data is incomplete. The eastern North Pacific population is estimated at around 1,100 animals, and the species is still hunted in small numbers by Japan.
Why do Baird's beaked whales have so many stomachs?
Their 11 to 13 stomach chambers are adapted for processing whole, suction-fed deep-sea squid and fish. Each chamber handles a stage of mechanical or chemical digestion, which is necessary because the whales have no functional teeth for chewing.
What is the difference between a Baird's beaked whale and a Cuvier's beaked whale?
Both are deep-diving beaked whales, but Baird's are roughly twice the size of Cuvier's, live in the North Pacific only, and travel in larger social groups. Cuvier's beaked whales are smaller, found in all major oceans, and hold the mammalian dive depth record.
Why are Baird's beaked whales so rarely photographed underwater?
They live offshore in very deep water, surface briefly between long dives, dive at the approach of any vessel, and don't breach. Even encountering a pod at the surface is uncommon, and getting in the water with them before they dive is rarer still. The images in this post are among the very few that exist.
Want to see more rare ocean wildlife?
Most of my photography focuses on animals like this one, species that are difficult to find, harder to photograph, and worth the effort of seeing well. You can explore the full portfolio at williamdrumm.com/photo, read more long-form stories on the blog, or follow along on Instagram where I post new work as I make it. Fine art prints of select frames, including from rare wildlife encounters like this one, are available at williamdrumm.com/shop, with a portion of every print sale supporting marine conservation.
For more information about whales take a look at my Humpback Whale Guide, or if you are interested in underwater photography yourself check out How To Take Underwater Photos.
The mystery of Baird's beaked whales is one that continues to intrigue and inspire us. The more we learn about these creatures, the more we realize how much we still don’t know. Perhaps that’s part of the allure, the deeper we dive into their world, the more we discover just how much we have to protect. After all, if we can’t preserve these extraordinary creatures, what does that say about the future of our oceans?
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