Mammals · Artiodactyla · Eschrichtiidae

Gray Whale

Eschrichtius robustus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

It makes the longest documented annual migration of any mammal, covering up to 16,000 km there and back between its Arctic feeding grounds and its calving lagoons in Baja California.

Weight

27 t – 45 t

Size

14.9 m – 15.2 m

Lifespan

60 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Irregular activity

Active at irregular times, by day or night depending on circumstances.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

OceanOmnivore Variable activity Solitary Ocean Mammal

8countries 8parks 13dive sites 1featured routes

Fun facts

It makes the longest annual migration of any mammal, up to 16,000 km there and back.
It is described as a 'living fossil', the most primitive species in its suborder.
It feeds by actively stirring up sediment from the sea floor, which no other great whale does.
comportamientoIt makes one of the longest known migrations of any mammal, covering more than 15,000 kilometres a year between its Arctic feeding grounds and its calving grounds in the warm waters of Baja California.
alimentaciónIt feeds mainly by ploughing the muddy sea floor with its jaw to strain out small crustaceans, unlike most baleen whales, which take prey from the water column.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (marine mammal)
Habitat & environment: Coastal waters of the north Pacific, migrating between Arctic feeding grounds and shallow calving lagoons in warm water
Birth weight: 500 - 680 kg; 4.5 m long at birth
Size at birth: 4.5 m long at birth
Sexual maturity: 5-11 years (average 8-9 years)
Gestation / incubation: 12-14 months
Litter / clutch size: 1 young, with an interval between births of 2 years or more

Sources consulted: Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); HubPages; NOAA Fisheries; Animal Diversity Web; Wikipedia (Gray whale); WDFW; PMC (genome transcriptome assembly study)