Population and Distribution
The two species' ranges do not overlap. This is perhaps the most significant reason they have historically been treated as separate species.
Arnoux's inhabit great tracts of the Southern Ocean. Beachings in New Zealand and Argentina indicate the whale is relatively common in the areas south of those countries south to Antarctica. It has also been spotted close to South Georgia and South Africa, indicating a likely circumpolar distribution. The northernmost stranding was at 34 degrees south, indicating the whales inhabit cool and temperate, as well as polar, waters.
Baird's beaked whale is found in the North Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan and the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk. They appear to prefer seas over steep cliffs at the edge of the continental shelf. Specimens have been recorded as far north as the Bering Sea and as far south as the Baja California Peninsula on the east side and the southern islands of Japan on the west.
The total population is not known for either species. Estimates for Baird's are of the order of 30,000 individuals.
Read more about this topic: Giant Beaked Whale
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