Eventually, it was recognized that bowheads and right whales were different, but there was still no strong consensus as to whether they shared a single genus or two.

As recently as 1998, Dale Rice listed just two species – B. glacialis (the right whales) and B. mysticetus (the bowheads) – in his comprehensive and otherwise authoritative classification.

The bulbous ridge of highly vascularized tissue, the corpus cavernosum maxillaris, extends along the centre of the hard plate, forming two large lobes at the rostral palate.

This organ is thought to provide a mechanism of cooling for the whale (which is normally protected from the cold Arctic waters by 40 cm (16 in) or more of fat).

Compared to other cetaceans, their brain had a lower level of gyrification in the cerebral cortex, more vertically-aligned gyri, and a relatively dull temporal pole region.

[21] The head of the bowhead whale comprises a large portion of its body length, creating an enormous feeding apparatus.

To feed, water is filtered through the fine hairs of keratin of the baleen plates, trapping the prey inside near the tongue where it is then swallowed.

[24] Bowhead whales are highly vocal[25] and use low frequency (<1000 Hz) sounds to communicate while travelling, feeding, and socialising.

[32] Researchers at CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, estimated that bowhead whales' maximum natural lifespan is 268 years based on genetic analysis.

These mutations enable bowhead whales to better repair DNA damage, allowing for greater resistance to cancer.

Bowheads were abundant around Labrador, Newfoundland (Strait of Belle Isle) and the northern Gulf of St Lawrence until at least the 16th and 17th centuries.

A 2019 study estimated that the Western Arctic population was 12,505; although it was lower than the 2011 value of 16,820, the surveyors believed there was no significant decline in 2011–2019 due to the unusual conditions of whale migration and observation in 2019.

The Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission co-manages the bowhead subsistence harvest with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

However, if climate change substantially shrinks sea ice, these whales could be threatened by increased shipping traffic.

[49] The original population size of this local group is unclear, but possibly about 500 to 600 whales annually summered in the northwestern part of the bay in the 1860s.

[citation needed] Cow – calf pairs and juveniles up to 13.5 m (44 ft) in length make up the majority of summering aggregation in the northern Foxe Basin, while matured males and noncalving females may use the northwestern part of Hudson Bay.

[52] Bowhead ranges within Hudson Bay are usually considered not to cover southern parts,[51][57] but at least some whales migrate to locations further south such as Sanikiluaq[citation needed] and Churchill river mouth.

[58][59][60] Congregation within Foxe Basin occurs in a well-defined area of 3,700 km2 (1,100 sq nmi) north of Igloolik Island to Fury and Hecla Strait and Kapuiviit and Gifford Fiord, and into Gulf of Boothia and Prince Regent Inlet.

The WWF welcomed the creation of a nature sanctuary in the region[64] Possibly, vagrants from this population occasionally reach into Asian nations such as off Japan or the Korean Peninsula (although this record might be of a right whale[65]).

[67] Fossils have been excavated on Hokkaido,[68] but it is unclear whether the northern coasts of Japan were once included in seasonal or occasional migration ranges.

[72] Also, bowheads in this stock were possibly once abundant in areas adjacent to the White Sea region, where few or no animals currently migrate, such as the Kola and Kanin Peninsula.

[76] The waters around the marine mammal sanctuary[77] of Franz Josef Land is possibly functioning as the most important habitat for this population.

During expeditions by a tour operator 'Arctic Kingdom', a large group of bowheads seemingly involved in courtship activities was discovered in very shallow bays south of Qikiqtarjuaq in 2012.

This area is an important habitat for whales that were observed to be relatively active and to interact with humans positively, or to rest on sea floors.

[83] In 1978 the International Whaling Commission (IWC) introduced a hunting strike quota for the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Sea (BCB) bowhead.

[88] Commercial bowhead whaling began in the 16th century when the Basques killed them as they migrated south through the Strait of Belle Isle in the fall and early winter.

[89] In the North Pacific, the first bowheads were taken off the eastern coast of Kamchatka by the Danish whaleship Neptun, Captain Thomas Sodring, in 1845.

By 1849, 50 ships were hunting bowheads in each area; in the Bering Strait, 500 whales were killed that year, and that number jumped to more than 2000 in 1850.

During 1858–1860, the ships shifted back to the Bering Strait region, where the majority of the fleet cruised during the summer until the early 20th century.

CMS Parties strive towards strictly protecting these animals, conserving or restoring the places where they live, mitigating obstacles to migration, and controlling other factors that might endanger them.