Big-Leaf Maple vs Buckelwal

Acer macrophyllum compared with Megaptera novaeangliae

Key Differences

Big-Leaf Maple is Least Concern while Buckelwal is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Big-Leaf Maple	Buckelwal
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Sapindales (Sapindales)	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)
Family	Sapindaceae	Balaenopteridae (Rorquals)
Genus	Acer	Megaptera (Humpback Whales)
Species	Acer macrophyllum	Megaptera novaeangliae

Conservation Status

Big-Leaf Maple

LC — Least Concern

Buckelwal

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~80.0K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Big-Leaf Maple	Buckelwal
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	50 years
Average Length	—	15.0 m
Average Weight	—	30.0 t

Habitat & Geographic Range

Big-Leaf Maple

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Canada, Ireland, and United States.

Buckelwal

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 11 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (5 countries), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Big-Leaf Maple

The Big-Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) is a species in the genus Acer. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Buckelwal

Among the most acrobatic of the great whales, humpback whales are renowned for their complex, haunting songs sung by males during breeding season — some lasting hours and evolving over time. Reaching 16 meters and 30 tonnes, they undertake the longest migrations of any mammal. Found in all oceans, humpbacks feed on krill and small fish using cooperative bubble-net feeding. Populations have largely recovered from historic whaling.