The Once Endangered Gray Whale

Before 1937, the gray whales were hunted almost to the point of extinction, only a few hundred remained. The gray whale was granted protection by the League of Nations and then by the International Whaling Commission in 1946. In 1994, they were taken off the Endangered Species List, as their numbers had grown to over 20,000.

Today, pods of gray whales can be seen traveling their migratory path from the Arctic Ocean to the Baja Peninsula and back again, covering over 10,000 miles. They do this to spend the winter month in the warm Baja waters and the summer in the shallow waters of the Bering and Chukchi Sea's.

Gray Whales are mammals, they are warm blooded, breath air through blow holes near the top of their head, give birth to live young and hairs can even be found on the head of calves.

Gray whales reach an average length of 45 feet and weight around 33 to 35 tons, with the females being larger than the males. In comparison, the gray whale is larger than a school bus. Their tail flukes are wide and they have large, strong flippers that are shaped like paddles. They have between six and twelve knobs along their dorsal ridge and clusters of barnacles and whale lice along their head and back.

As their name implies, they are gray in color with pale white splotches all over the skin. Adults often have scars and old deep wounds from Killer Whale and shark attacks. When calves are born they are dark gray or black and often have very distinct marking.

They are baleen whales, meaning in place of teeth they have over lapping plates that act as a food filter. The gray whale is a bottom feeder, feeding mainly on small crustaceans such as krill, copepods, plankton, mollusks and even small fish. A gray whale will eat up to 2,600 pounds of food, daily. They will feed very little during the migration trip, living off of their thick blubber.

Breeding occurs during winter and early spring in the warm waters. Thirteen months later a calf will be born and within ten minutes it will swim to the surface and take its first breath. For the next seven or eight months the calf will nurse on its mothers milk and grow rapidly. The calf will reach maturity after eight years.

For forty years the gray whale will continue to grow in size before stopping. Their average lifespan is 50 to 55 years of age.

Sources:

seagrant.oregon state.eduwww.acsonline.org

www.orcanetwork.net