Wildlife
Grey whales undertake the longest annual migration of any known mammal, along the coastlines between their summer feeding and winter breeding grounds. Belonging to the baleen whale group, they have plates for filtering marine worms and crustaceans from the ocean floor. Grey whales are split into two separate populations, the eastern North Pacific (American) and the critically endangered western North Pacific (Asian) population. They are the only species in their genus, which in turn, is the only genus in the family.
Did you know?
Much of a grey whale’s body is covered with barnacles and whale lice.
Scientific name: Eschrichtius robustus
Rank: Species
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Killer whale hunt
A grey whale calf is no match for specialised ocean hunters.
A key sequence from the Blue Planet series, this dramatic and poignant video clip showed some extraordinary, and for some shocking, behaviour by killer whales. The challenges were to reflect the long drawn out hunt - it lasted six hours - and to balance an uncensored view of nature with the audience's ability to accept it. (Courtesy of WHOI)
Curious whales
Mark and Stephen entertain some bored grey whales.
Mark and Stephen entertain some bored grey whales.
The following habitats are found across the Grey whale distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Least Concern
Population trend: Stable
Year assessed: 2008
Classified by: IUCN 3.1
The gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of 14.9 m (49 ft), a weight of 36 tonnes (35 long tons; 40 short tons), and lives 50–70 years. The common name of the whale comes from the gray patches and white mottling on its dark skin. Gray whales were once called devil fish because of their fighting behavior when hunted. The gray whale is the sole living species in the genus Eschrichtius, which in turn is the sole living genus in the family Eschrichtiidae. This mammal descended from filter-feeding whales that developed at the beginning of the Oligocene, over 30 million years ago.
The gray whale is distributed in an eastern North Pacific (North American) population and a critically endangered western North Pacific (Asian) population. North Atlantic populations were extirpated (perhaps by whaling) on the European coast before 500 AD and on the American coast around the late 17th to early 18th centuries. However, on May 8, 2010, a sighting of a gray whale was confirmed off the coast of Israel in the Mediterranean Sea, leading some scientists to think they might be repopulating old breeding grounds that have not been used for centuries.
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Migration
Adapted to swimming
Carnivorous
Active at birth
Viviparous