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Sensation off Baja California: The hunt for the Japanese beaked whale ends with first live evidence
After five years of meticulous searching, an international research team achieved a triumph in marine biology: the first confirmed sighting of the extremely shy Japanese beaked whale (Mesoplodon gingkodens). An experienced expert secured genetic confirmation of this scientific sensation in the vastness of the Pacific with a targeted shot.
In June 2024, there was unusual excitement off the north-western coast of Baja California in Mexican waters. Breakfast aboard the research vessel RV Pacific Storm was abruptly interrupted when the cry ‘Whales! Starboard side!’ echoed across the deck. The crew, a team of whale experts from the USA and Mexico, was wide awake, because what the lookout had spotted through his powerful binoculars was anything but ordinary: two specimens of the Japanese beaked whale – one of the rarest whale species in the world.
The next few hours turned into a scientific chase. The researchers followed the two animals, which repeatedly came to the surface for short, quick breaths and then dived back down just as quickly. Photos and acoustic recordings were collected. The climax came when experienced whale expert Robert Pitman from Oregon State University picked up his special crossbow.
The perfect shot by a veteran
Pitman’s mission: a tissue sample. The crossbow bolts used for biopsy sampling are modified so that they only punch out a tiny piece of the surface, which is then collected from the water’s surface. Pitman, who had just retired but was reactivated for this expedition, hit the dark grey whale’s back perfectly.
There were good reasons for choosing Pitman: the veteran whale researcher has already tracked down species that are difficult to detect during his career, including a subspecies of Antarctic Type D orcas. He was also involved in describing new species of beaked whales, such as the small raven whale (Sato’s beaked whale, Berardius minimus). His expertise in the behaviour of these shy deep-sea creatures was invaluable. The tissue sample will now be genetically matched to confirm the species beyond doubt.
Five years in the shadow of the ocean
The sensational sighting was the result of five years of meticulous ‘stalking’. It all began in 2020, when Elizabeth Henderson from the US military’s Naval Information Warfare Centre and her colleagues made acoustic recordings of a group of whales emitting unusual calls, known as BW 43 pulses. It was clear that these characteristic, frequency-modulated echolocation pulses must have come from a species of the little-studied genus Mesoplodon, medium-sized beaked whales that develop a unique call for each species.
The hope was that this could be Perrin’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon perrini), which had never been observed alive. Over the next three years, the researchers returned to the area several times, first with a sailing boat, then with a chartered fishing boat – without success.
In 2024, the decisive step was taken: a team from Oregon State University returned with the RV Pacific Storm. This specialised research vessel was the key to success: not only was it equipped with state-of-the-art hydrophones for underwater detection, but it also had a high observation platform with powerful binoculars.
Technology against shyness
Beaked whales are the most extreme deep divers among whales, spending most of their time in the safety of the depths and only coming to the surface for a few minutes to breathe. Added to this is their extreme shyness. When they surface, they only stick their head and part of their back a few centimetres out of the water. The Pacific Storm’s high observation post and binoculars were essential for detecting this inconspicuous behaviour over long distances.
On the most recent expedition, the team managed to sight a total of six beaked whales, five of which were later identified as Japanese beaked whales through photographs, acoustics and genetics. The photographic evidence published in the trade press shows an adult male.
Identification was made easier by the characteristic features of the males: they develop two unusually shaped teeth in their lower jaw. Although these are not very large, the tips of the teeth protrude from the short beak. In the male sighted, they were surrounded by whitish scar tissue – a result of the mating fights that bulls engage in with their beaks and teeth. Round scars caused by so-called ‘cookie-cutter sharks’ are also frequently seen on their dark grey skin.
With 24 known species, the most recent addition being the Ramaris’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon eueu) in 2021, the genus remains one of the most mysterious groups in the ocean. The recent sighting of the Japanese beaked whale, which was published in July and went viral in the media thanks to the presence of a ‘loitering albatross’, is an important step towards lifting the veil of mystery surrounding these ‘ghost whales’.
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