We love it when legends become reality, for years, the ginkgo-toothed beaked whale was the “ghost of the Pacific”. An animal we only knew about because there were corpses that were dragged toward the shore of very remote beaches far away or because of some DNA fragments that had been collected. But no one, no one had seen it alive until now.
For the first time in history, a team of scientists managed to see, record and document the elusive ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens) swimming in open sea, off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. And the best part is that with this encounter they also solved a mystery that had been puzzling experts for more than a decade, a mysterious acoustic signal, the famous BW43, that no one had managed to attribute to a specific species.
The enigma of the BW43
For years, hydrophones (devices to receive sounds in the sea) scattered throughout the North Pacific were detecting an echolocation noise that did not match any whale known so far, the sound was heard but no one knew how to identify where it came from or what animal it belonged to.
The researchers suspected some kind of beaked whale, but which one? There was no way to know it without seeing the animal emitting the sound.
For five summers in a row, several teams went through the waters of Baja California towing hydrophones, reviewing recordings and scanning the horizon with incredible patience, and when it seemed impossible… the miracle happened.
No one expected it
It happened in June 2024 when something moved near a boat, first one silhouette, then another and then another. There they were, a very small group of beaked whales coming to the surface, just enough to breathe and disappear again into the ocean, but those seconds were enough to take photographs, finally receive those completely clean acoustic recordings and they were even able to perform a biopsy obtained with a scientific crossbow (a tool designed to extract a tiny sample of skin without harming the animal, we are against animal mistreatment, of course).
One of the juvenile males passed about twenty meters from the boat and it was the perfect moment. The genetic sample was analyzed… and bingo, it was Mesoplodon ginkgodens!! There were tears, screams, hugs. Years of work rewarded in an instant and almost by chance.
The BW43 did belong to the ginkgo beaked whale
With the photos, the DNA and the sounds recorded right at the moment of the sighting, the puzzle was completed, that noise belonged to the ginkgo-toothed beaked whale!!
Back to life
For the first time, a species known only from stranded remains was alive, recorded, confirmed!!! Now scientists can track this species without seeing it, just by listening to its signals in the ocean.
Battles, wounds and sharks
The ginkgo-toothed beaked whale has a distinctive feature and it is that the males develop two flat leaf-shaped teeth near the tip of the snout. They do not use them to eat, but to fight with other males for the females.
The photos show long scars, cuts, white lines, many battles on their backs. In addition, many had circular bite marks made by sharks called “cookie cutters”.
Why it had never been seen alive
Although it measures more than four meters, this cetacean is almost invisible because it lives in remote areas of the oceans, because it can dive for more than an hour in extreme depths and only surfaces to breathe (and not always) and because it avoids boats!
What comes next
With this mystery solved, the scientists are already looking toward another challenge, in this case, finding Perrin’s beaked whale, an even more elusive species of which only six corpses are known and no live sighting.
But now they have networks of hydrophones, smart buoys, long-range recorders and a perfectly identified sound.
They will be able to map where the ginkgo beaked whale lives, estimate how many there are and monitor threats such as fishing or underwater noise!!