Genetic-Biochemical Studies 



We conducted biochemical and genetic studies on bowheads 

 taken from 1977 to 1979 to help clarify stock discreteness. 

 Electrophoretic analyses of liver tissues (nine whales) and 

 blood proteins (three whales), including one ingutuk in each 

 analysis, showed that much variability occurs within the popu- 

 lation and within at least one individual analyzed. The bio- 

 chemically variant animal, however, did not possess morpho- 

 logical characteristics attributed to ingutuk. Conversely, the 

 ingutuk samples were not distinguishable from the other bow- 

 heads. 



Conclusion 



It is apparent that some bowhead whales look different 

 from others, even though it often takes an experienced observer 

 to make the distinction. The most apparent differences seem to 

 occur with the variant called ingutuk. The preponderance of 

 direct and circumstantial evidence suggests, however, that a 

 clear distinction between ingutuk and bowhead cannot always 

 be made when considering all morphological features over a 

 range of whale sizes. 



Although detailed morphometric and genetic-biochemical 

 analyses of bowhead whales are far from complete, our re- 

 search to date leads us to conclude that the ingutuk is not a 

 species separate from the bowhead. The ingutuk is likely an 

 age and/or sex related trait with the most compelling ex- 

 planation that it is a yearling. 



White Whales in Alaska 



Abundance and Distribution 



White whales of the northeastern North Pacific Ocean occur 

 from the Gulf of Alaska westward to the Bering Sea, north- 

 ward through the Chukchi Sea, eastward into the Beaufort Sea 

 (Klinkhart 1966; Scheffer 1972), and west into the East Sibe- 

 rian Sea (Kleinenberg et al. 1964). 



The Gulf of Alaska population of stock,'" an estimated 

 300-500 animals, appears to remain in or near Cook Inlet year- 

 round (Brooks 1963; Klinkhart 1966; Scheffer 1972; Alaska 

 Department of Fish and Game 1975 40 ; Harrison and Hall 

 1978). Murray and Fay (1979)-" found few animals present 

 during the winter months. 



White whale sightings have been made, however, in the 

 Gulf of Alaska beyond the boundaries of Cook Inlet. Harri- 

 son and Hall (1978) document the sighting of a single animal 

 in Prince William Sound in March, and near Kodiak Island 

 in March and July. Calkins and Pitcher (1977) 42 reported a 

 late May sighting of 21 white whales in Yakutat Bay. They 

 have been sighted as far south as Washington State (Scheffer 



'"'Stock, " as defined here, is a geographic subunil of a larger interbreeding 

 population. 



"'Alaska Department of Fish and Game. 1975. [Untitled.] Unpubl. manuscr., 

 8 p. Alaska Dep. Fish Game, Juneau, Alaska. 



'Murray, N. K., and F. H. Fay. 1979. The white whales or belukhas, Del- 

 phinaplerus leucas, of Cook Inlet, Alaska. Unpubl. manuscr., 6 p. Coll. Environ. 

 Sci., Univ. Alaska, Fairbanks, AK 99701 . 



"Calkins, D., and K. Pitcher. 1977. Unusual sightings of marine mammals in 

 the Gulf of Alaska. [Abstr.] In Proc. Second Conf. Biol. Mar. Mammals, San 

 Diego, Calif., 12-15 Dec, 1977, p. 53. 



and Slipp 1948), although this is certainly beyond their nor- 

 mal range. The population in Cook Inlet and the Gulf of 

 Alaska is believed to be local and separate from Bristol Bay 

 and • Bering Sea population(s). Even though the Alaska 

 Peninsula is evidently a barrier to the movement of these 

 animals from the Gulf of Alaska into the Bering Sea, it 

 seems plausible that interbreeding occurred in the recent 

 past. 



White whales occurring in the Bering Sea compose resident 

 (or at least local to a defined area) and migratory groups. A 

 minimum of 1,000-1,500 has been estimated to occur in the 

 Bristol Bay-Kuskokwim Bay area throughout the year (Alas- 

 ka Department of Fish and Game 1957 footnote 40; Klink- 

 hart 1966). An additional, but unknown, number are thought 

 to winter in the Bering Sea north of Bristol Bay. These ani- 

 mals apparently migrate into eastern Siberian and western 

 Canadian waters in late spring and summer (Alaska Depart- 

 ment of Fisheries 1955, 1956; Kleinenberg et al. 1964; Ser- 

 geant and Hoek 1974; Braham and Krogman footnote 2; 

 Fraker footnote 23). An unknown portion of these migratory 

 animals summer in the Norton Sound-Yukon Delta area (Figs. 

 20, 32), while others continue north through the Bering Strait 

 (Scheffer 1972; Fay 1974). 



White whales in the Chukchi Sea seem to be largely tran- 

 sients. Most migrate between the Bering and Chukchi Seas. 

 An unknown number summer in Kotzebue Sound, particu- 



152 



141 



Figure 32. — Sightings of while whales during aerial surveys conducted between 

 the months of March and September 1975-77. Over 400 sightings were made of 

 approximately 2.0(H) whales. 



27 



