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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
gray
whale, gray back, devil fish |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Mammalia |
| ORDER: |
Cetacea |
| SUBORDER: |
Mysticeti |
| FAMILY: |
Eschrichtiidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Eschrichtius
(named in honor of Danish zoologist Eschricht) robustus
(robust, strong) |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
This
species of whale has short baleen, a proportionally
small head when compared to other baleen whales,
and no dorsal fin. Instead of a dorsal fin, they
have 9-13 bumps or "knuckles" from the
midpoint of the back to the tail flukes. They are,
of course, grayish in color. Their throat grooves
number from 2-4. |
| FEMALE |
As
with other baleen whales, adult females tend to
be slightly larger than the adult males. |
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| SIZE: |
Newborn
calves average 4.9 m (16-ft.) |
| MALE |
Male
gray whales average 13 m (43 ft.) |
| FEMALE |
Female
gray whales average 14.1 m (46 ft.). A maximum length
for them is about 15 m(49 ft.) |
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| WEIGHT: |
At
birth, a gray whale is about 500 kg (1,100 lb.).
The maximum weight for a gray whale is believed
to be around 35,300 kg (78,000 lb.). |
| FEMALE |
Females
may weigh almost 32,000 kg (70,000 lb.) |
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| DIET: |
A
gray whale's diet consists largely of sand crab-like
crustaceans called amphipods |
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| GESTATION: |
13.5
months; mating season is from November to December
and birthing season is from December to February;
calving occurs about every two years |
| NURSING
DURATION |
Females
lactate for a seven-month period. By the end of
this nursing period, the calf reaches a size of
around 8 m (27 ft.) and 6,800 kg (15,000 lb.). |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
6-9
years |
| MALE |
Males
gain sexual maturity when they reach around 11 m
(36 ft.) |
| FEMALE |
Females
gain sexual maturity when they reach around 11.5
m (38 ft.) |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Approximately
40 years |
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| RANGE: |
The
Atlantic populations disappeared as larger scale
commercial whaling began in the 17th century. California
gray whales inhabit the eastern North Pacific Ocean.
They spend summers in the icy waters of the Bering
and Chukchi seas, off Alaska. As the ice pack advances
in the fall, gray whales embark on one of the longest
known migrations of any mammal. Hugging the North
American coastline, the whales swim south more than
10,000 km (6,000 mi.) to Baja California, Mexico. |
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| HABITAT: |
Gray
whales mate and give birth in warmer water lagoons
of Baja, California. Migration routes are along
the North American coastline from the colder waters
of the Bering Sea to the warm lagoons of Baja, California. |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Atlantic
population: extinct
Eastern Pacific population: approximately 24,000
Western Pacific population: 100-200 individuals |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Low
Risk/Conservation Dependent |
| CITES |
Appendix
I |
| USFWS |
Eastern
Pacific population: Delisted taxon, recovered, being
monitored
Western Pacific Population: Endangered |
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| 1. |
The
gray whale is the only living member of the baleen
whale family Eschrichtiidae. The gray whale differs
from the other two baleen whale families primarily
in its feeding behavior - it is a bottom feeder. |
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| 2. |
Gray whales are predominantly bottom feeders and
forage along the ocean floor. Turning on its side,
a gray whale gulps great mouthfuls of silt, strains
out water and mud through its baleen, and swallows
bottom-dwelling invertebrates. This whale species
has the least amount of baleen-approximately 130
baleen strips on each side of jaw. The reduced number
of baleen reflects the fact that they are bottom
feeders. |
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| 3. |
Females give birth to 4.9 m (16 ft.) calves in the
warm, shallow lagoons of Baja. While in the lagoons,
some gray whales are unusually receptive to the
attentions of human who travel to the lagoons to
see them. |
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| 4. |
They
are believed to be able to dive up to 120 m (395
ft.) and swim up to 15 kph (33 mph). |
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| 5. |
Gray
whales are known to migrate more than 10,000 km
(6,000 miles) each way-that's the longest known
migration route of any mammal. |
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| 6. |
For
more information about baleen whales, explore the
baleen
whales info book. |
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The
eastern Pacific gray whale has made a remarkable
recovery from times when they were heavily hunted.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, whalers
hunted gray whales to the brink of extinction -
twice. Legally protected since 1946, gray whales
have made an astonishing comeback. The current population
is about 24,000 individuals, a figure believed to
match or exceed pre-whaling numbers. In 1994 the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) removed
the California gray whale from the Endangered Species
List.
The eastern Pacific gray whale population was removed
from the Endangered Species List in 1994 because
it seems to have reached pre-whaling numbers (about
21,000 whales in 1993). The western Pacific stock
is still at dangerously low numbers (perhaps 100
to 200 individuals) and the Atlantic stock is thought
to be extinct.
Several
key laws protect baleen whales, such as gray whales.
The Convention in International Trade of Endangered
Species (CITES) is an international treaty developed
in 1973 to regulate trade in certain wildlife
species. CITES protects all species of baleen
whales.
In
the United States, the Marine Mammal Protection
Act protects all whale species, so it is illegal
to hunt or harass them.
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|
| Balcomb,
Kenneth C., Larry Foster and Stanley Minasian. The
World's Whales - The Complete Illustrated Guide.
New York: Smithsonian Books, 1984. |
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Ellis, Richard. The Book of Whales. New York:
Alfred A. Knopf, 1994. |
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|
Rugh, D.J., Muto, M.M., Moore, S.E. and D.P. DeMaster.
Status Review of the eastern north Pacific
stock of gray whales. US Dept. Commer., NOAA
Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-103. 1999.
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| Whales
and Dolphins. Guide to the Biology and Behavior
of Cetaceans. San Diego: Thunder Bay Press,
1998. |
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