Gray whale

The gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), also known as the grey whale, is a baleen whale that travels long distances between its feeding and breeding areas each year. These whales can grow up to 14.9–15.2 meters (49–50 feet) long and weigh as much as 41 to 45 tonnes (45 to 50 short tons; 40 to 44 long tons). They can live between 55 and 70 years, with some females possibly living even longer.

Gray whales get their name from the gray patches and white markings on their dark skin. In the past, they were sometimes called devil fish because of how strongly they fought back when hunted. Today, the gray whale is the only living species in the genus Eschrichtius. It belongs to the family Eschrichtiidae, though some recent studies suggest it may be part of the family Balaenopteridae.

There are two main groups of gray whales: one lives in the Northeast Pacific (near North America) and the other, which is endangered, lives in the Northwest Pacific (near Asia). Gray whales once lived in the North Atlantic too, but they disappeared from European coasts between the 12th and 14th centuries, possibly due to whaling. They also vanished from the American and African Atlantic coasts around the late 17th to early 18th centuries. Recently, in the 2010s and 2020s, a few gray whales have been spotted again in the North Atlantic, Mediterranean, and even off South Atlantic coasts.

Taxonomy

The gray whale is the only living member of its genus and family, Eschrichtius and Eschrichtiidae. Scientists found an extinct species in 2017 and placed it in the same genus, calling it the Akishima whale (E. akishimaensis).

Some recent studies suggest that gray whales may be more closely related to certain rorquals, like the humpback whale and fin whale, than to other rorquals such as the minke whales. The American Society of Mammalogists follows this classification. The whale was named by John Edward Gray in 1865 to honor Daniel Frederik Eschricht. Its common name comes from its gray color.

Description

The gray whale is dark gray with special gray-white patterns on its body. These patterns come from old scars left by tiny creatures. Scientists can tell each whale apart by looking at these scars and marks on its back.

Gray whales grow from about 4.6 to 4.9 meters (15 to 16 feet) long when they are born to around 11 to 15.2 meters (36 to 50 feet) when they are fully grown. Newborn whales are darker, almost black, but they become dark gray as they grow up. A fully grown gray whale can weigh between 40 and 45 tonnes.

Gray whales have special soft, pale-colored material in their mouths called baleen, which they use to catch food. They also have a special bumpy ridge on their backs instead of a regular dorsal fin. Their tails are wide and deeply notched in the middle. They usually move slowly, but they can swim faster if they need to.

Populations

North Pacific

There are two groups of gray whales in the Pacific Ocean. One group is very small and moves between the Sea of Okhotsk and southern Korea. The other group is larger, with about 27,000 whales. It travels between the waters off northernmost Alaska and Baja California Sur. Mothers make this journey with their young, staying close to the shore in shallow waters.

The smaller group has grown very slowly even with conservation efforts, mainly because they have few babies. Their numbers were at their lowest in 2010, but by 2018, they began to increase, especially near Sakhalin Island. Because of this, their protection level was changed from critically endangered to endangered.

North Atlantic

Gray whales no longer live in the North Atlantic; they disappeared in the 18th century. They used to swim along the coasts of both sides of the Atlantic, including the Baltic Sea, the Wadden Sea, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Bay of Fundy, Pamlico Sound, and possibly Hudson Bay. Scientists believe whaling and changes in the climate caused their disappearance. Recently, a few gray whales have been seen in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, likely traveling from the Pacific through the Arctic Ocean.

Pre-whaling abundance

Scientists think that before whaling, there were many more gray whales—about three to five times more than today. However, the ocean has changed since then, so it may not support as many whales now. Current threats to gray whales include collisions with ships, getting caught in fishing gear, and changes in sea ice due to climate change.

Integration and recolonization

Some gray whales from near Sakhalin and the Kamchatka Peninsula have been tracked traveling to join the larger group off the coast of British Columbia. Recent sightings in the Arctic, such as in the Laptev Sea and around Franz Josef Land, suggest that gray whales may be starting to return to areas where they used to live. There have also been sightings in the Mediterranean and even as far as Walvis Bay, Namibia, showing that gray whales might be exploring new areas. In December 2023, a gray whale was seen off Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. These sightings indicate that gray whales may be expanding their range again.

Life history

Gray whales are large animals that travel long distances each year. They can grow up to about 15 meters long and weigh as much as 45 tonnes. These whales can live for between 55 and 70 years, with some living even longer.

Breeding among gray whales is complex, often involving several animals. Both males and females reach maturity between 6 and 12 years old. Females have their offspring in a synchronized pattern, usually between late November and early December. During the breeding season, females may mate with multiple males. Most females have a baby every two years, though sometimes it can happen each year. Males also change throughout the year, with their reproductive organs growing larger when females are ready to mate.

Gray whales give birth after a pregnancy of about 13 and a half months. Most babies are born in mid-January, and they are about 14 to 16 feet long and weigh around 2,000 pounds at birth. Mother whales feed their babies for about seven months. The shallow waters where they give birth help protect the new babies from predators.

These whales mainly eat small sea creatures they find on the ocean floor. They use special bone-like filters in their mouths to catch their food. Gray whales travel very long distances — up to 22,000 kilometers each year — moving between their feeding areas in the north and their breeding areas in the south.

Whaling

North Pacific

Humans and orcas are the only animals that threaten adult gray whales, with orcas being the bigger threat. People from places like Vancouver Island and the Makah in Washington have also hunted gray whales.

People from Europe began catching gray whales in the North Pacific during the winter of 1845–46. Two ships from the United States caught whales in Magdalena Bay. More ships came for the next two winters, but then stopped because it was hard to hunt them and the oil and bones were not very good.

Hunting started again in 1855–56 from places like San Francisco. This period, lasting until 1865, was when many gray whales were caught along the coast of Baja California. Whales were caught in Magdalena Bay and along the coast from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, and from places like Crescent City in northern California to San Ignacio Lagoon. During this time, ships also sometimes caught gray whales when they were looking for other kinds of whales.

In 1857, a hunter named Charles Scammon found one of the last places where gray whales went to have their babies. He caught many whales there and in another lagoon to the south. Very soon, these lagoons had almost no whales left.

Between 1846 and 1874, people caught many gray whales, with most of them caught in Magdalena Bay and nearby areas, as well as by people on the coasts of California and Baja California.

A smaller amount of hunting happened later on the west coast of North America. A few whales were caught between 1919 and 1926 in California, and one place in Washington caught some between 1911 and 1921. From 1919 to 1929, about 234 gray whales were caught along the whole west coast of North America. A place in British Columbia caught about a dozen in 1953. A whaling station in Richmond, California caught gray whales between 1964 and 1969 for research. The Soviet Union caught gray whales between 1961 and 1972, even though they first said they hadn’t caught any. A ship named California caught some whales near Malibu, California in 1934–35 and 1935–36. Gray whales were protected by law in the United States in 1936.

Japanese people began catching gray whales in the 1570s. Many were caught in different places in Japan from the late 1600s to the late 1800s. Even more were probably caught by American and European whalers in the Sea of Okhotsk from the 1840s to the early 1900s. In the 1890s, gray whales were caught with nets in Japan. The biggest damage happened between 1911 and 1933, when Japanese whalers caught many gray whales after setting up stations on the Korean Peninsula and parts of China. By 1934, the gray whales in the western part of the Pacific were almost gone. From 1891 to 1966, many gray whales were caught, with the most being caught in the 1910s.

By 2001, the gray whale group near California had grown to about 26,000. By 2016, the group near Korea, Japan, and Kamchatka had about 200 whales.

North Atlantic

The gray whale group in the North Atlantic might have disappeared by the 1700s. More whaling in the 1600s and 1700s may have helped cause this. Some writers think that whales called “scrag” that were caught by early hunters in New England were gray whales. Gray whales were also known in Iceland in the early 1600s. It is thought that they may have disappeared in the eastern North Atlantic between the 1200s and 1400s. There is also evidence that whaling happened in the Mediterranean area.

Conservation

Gray whales are protected from commercial hunting by the International Whaling Commission since 1949. They are no longer hunted on a large scale.

Some limited hunting still happens in the Chukotka region of northeastern Russia. This hunting is allowed for local communities, but some groups argue that the meat is not used traditionally.

Currently, the limit for gray whale hunting in this area is 140 whales each year. There was also a claim by the Makah tribe of Washington for a few whales, but legal issues have mostly stopped this hunt.

As of 2018, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers gray whales to be safe overall. However, a specific group of gray whales in the northwest Pacific is considered at very high risk.

Gray whale migrations along the Pacific Coast have been watched and recorded since 1985 by volunteers in California. South Korea and China also protect gray whales.

Rewilding proposal

In 2005, two scientists suggested moving 50 gray whales from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean to help bring back the gray whale population there. As of 2024, this plan has not been tried.

Threats

Gray whales face several challenges that can affect their safety. Human activities, such as increased use of their breeding areas in Mexico, climate change, loud underwater sounds, entanglement in fishing nets, and collisions with boats, can harm these whales. Some groups of gray whales are considered endangered.

In some areas, gray whales have sadly been trapped by fishing nets. Scientists are studying why many gray whales have been found washed ashore recently. One idea is that changes in their food supply might make it harder for them to find enough nutrition.

Orcas, also known as killer whales, are known to target young gray whale calves. Other whales, like humpback whales, have sometimes been seen helping to protect the young calves.

Captivity

Gray whales are rarely kept in captivity because they are very large and need to migrate. The first gray whale, named Gigi, was captured in Scammon's Lagoon, Baja California in 1965 and died two months later from an infection. Another gray whale, named Gigi II, was captured in 1972 from the same place and released a year later after growing too big for the facilities. A third gray whale, J.J., first came ashore in 1997 in Marina del Rey, California and was taken to SeaWorld San Diego. After 14 months, she was released because she also grew too large to care for in the facilities. When she was released, J.J. was the largest marine mammal ever kept in captivity.