Grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus)
Grey whales are split into two separate populations, the eastern North Pacific (American) and the critically endangered western North Pacific (Asian) population. Belonging to the baleen whale group, they have plates for filtering marine worms and crustaceans from the ocean floor. Grey whales undertake the longest annual migration of any known mammal, along the coastlines between their summer feeding and winter breeding grounds. They are the only species in their genus, which in turn, is the only genus in the family.
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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 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.
Curious whales
Last Chance to See
Mark and Stephen entertain some bored grey whales.
Mark and Stephen entertain some bored grey whales.
Featured in the following TV programmes
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Coming soon
Last Chance to See: Blue Whale
The travellers have a close encounter with grey whales and meet the deadly Humboldt squid.
Wed 10, 00:10 on BBC Two
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Archived
The Blue Planet: Introduction
David Attenborough narrates a natural history of the oceans.
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Archived
Incredible Journeys: A WHALE'S VOYAGE
Follows the 11,000 mile migration of a Grey Whale from a tropical Mexican lagoon to the Arctic Chukchi Sea.
Earth News
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Gray whales granted rare reprieve
Conservation campaigners are hailing a victory for the critically endangered western gray whale.
About the Grey whale
The gray (or grey) whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is a baleen whale that travels between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of about 16 meters (52 ft), a weight of 36 tons and an age of 50–60 years. Gray whales were once called devil fish because of their fighting behavior when hunted. The gray whale is the sole species in the genus Eschrichtius, which in turn is the sole genus in the family Eschrichtiidae. This mammal is descended from the filter-feeding whales that developed at the beginning of the Oligocene, over 30 million years before the present.
The gray whale is distributed in an eastern North Pacific (American) population and a critically endangered western North Pacific (Asian) population. Eastern and western populations in the North Atlantic became extinct in the 18th century.
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Featured in...
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David Attenborough's favourite moments
David Attenborough's favourite moments from the last 30 years represent not only memorable personal experiences, but also the diversity of life on our planet and the rapidly changing technological face of broadcasting.
Common Names
- Devil fish
- Gray back
- Gray whale
- Hard head
- Mussel digger
- Rip sack
The Grey whale is
Adaptation data provided by Animal Diversity Web
Where can I see them?
They can be found in the following habitats:
Conservation Status
The Grey whale is Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
- EX - Extinct
- EW
- CR - Threatened
- EN - Threatened
- VU - Threatened
- NT
- LC - Least concern
Population trend: Stable
Year assessed: 2008
Elsewhere on the web
- Animal Diversity Web (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
- Grey whale conservation and research (wildwhales.org)
- American Cetacean Society: fact sheet (acsonline.org)
- ARKive: Images of Life on Earth (arkive.org)
- IUCN Red List information (iucnredlist.org)
- Grey whale migration route map (learner.org)
- Gray Whale (wikipedia.org)
Site links
BBC links
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