The spectacular moment when a surfer closely encountered a bowhead whale was captured in the Vrangel Bay, 50 kilometers of the south border of the Shantar Islands National Park, Russia. /VCG Photo  

The bowhead whale, also known as Greenland right whale, weighs around 75 to 100 tons and can be found mainly in the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort (BCB) region. /VCG Photo

Bowhead whales were listed in the Red List of Threatened Species by IUCN in 2012 and the current population size of the species is approximately 10,000 around the world. /VCG Photo

Bowheads have suffered from hunting by commercial whalers until the last century for oil, meat, and baleen, but some populations are faring better as a result of the International Whaling Commission (IWC)’s commercial whaling suspension. Like other large whales, bowhead whales are threatened by habitat loss, climate change, as well as offshore oil and gas exploration and increased shipping in Arctic waters, according to WWF. /VCG Photo