Bowhead Whale

Bowhead Whale (aka The Head, aka The Ice Impaler, aka Balaena Mysticetus)

Male / no dorsal fin / 18 meters long (59 ft) / 110 tons (54 Chevy Silverados) / Healthy Population

The bowhead species:

The bowhead whale is one of the few whale species that does not have a dorsal fin.  Their population exists solely in the Arctic Ocean near the north pole's ice cap.  The species tends to shy away from human activity, but beluga whales can sometimes give away their whereabouts because they often travel together.  The inuit still hunt this whale today, but only for the purpose of feeding local residents.  The bowheads are believed to be the longest living mammals on the planet and can live to be 200 years old in some cases.  This means there are whales out there that would have been alive at the same time as Thomas Jefferson and survived through the peak of whale hunting. Cetologists have tried to record bowhead vocalization and they've discovered that bowheads are almost constantly vocalizing.  It's almost like they won't quit yapping.  They're predominantly dark grey in color, but have a greyish bands on their tails and around their mouths. They eat copepods that can be harvested from the mud from the sea floor beneath the sheet ice in the Arctic.  Frequently when they're spotted, they'll still have mud on their faces from their last meal.  The species never stops growing at any point in their lives.  Scientists have witnessed bowheads crushing through ice as thick as two feet in order to create a blowhole.  This done by striking the ice with the massive flat part on the front of their heads.    

Bowhead the character:

The name of the bowhead whale in The Pod is 'Bowhead'.  Like all the others, he's been tagged by the common name for his species.  Bowhead has one goal in life and that's to find his missing dorsal fin. He's a bit of a talker and he sees no reason to stop talking about his missing fin.  He's always looking for it no matter where he goes, so his motivations in life boil down to one task:  find the dorsal.  Did I mention that he really wants a dorsal fin?   

"The Head"