Deep-Sea Specialization Makes Baird’s Beaked Whale One of the Ocean’s Most Extreme Mammals

Few mammals operate routinely under 300 atmospheres of pressure.

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The deep ocean covers more than half of Earth’s surface.

By diving to depths approaching 3,000 meters, Baird’s beaked whales experience hydrostatic pressures exceeding 300 atmospheres while maintaining coordinated hunting behavior.

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Such conditions combine total darkness, near-freezing temperatures, and oxygen limitation, creating a triad of extremes rarely tolerated simultaneously by large vertebrates.

Its survival under these compounded stresses positions it among the most physiologically extreme mammals known, rivaling adaptations seen in polar and high-altitude specialists.

Source

NOAA Fisheries

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