Grey whale • Eschrichtius robustus • Heiltsuk/Haíɫzaqv - ǧvi̓ṃ́, c̓stu-s ǧvi̓ṃ́*
{Eschrichtius= for Daniel Fredericht Eschricht, a Danish zoologist; robustus = strong}
*literal translation of "grey whale"
Top: paired blowhole. Top left: grey whale diving away from the camera, with its hump and "knuckles" just starting to appear above the surface. Bottom left: "knuckles" are visible above the tail flukes. Right: grey whale blows are low and bushy. Photos by Mike Munroe.
Identification
The grey whale is a baleen whale. It has a robust body to 15 m long, with a distinctively narrow, slightly bowed head and a long, downward-curving mouthline. Its dark grey body has lighter grey and white patches, giving it a mottled appearance; adding to this effect are patches of white barnacles (Cryptolepas rachianecti) and orange whale lice (Cyamus scammoni) on its skin. Instead of a dorsal fin, the grey whale has a low hump set far back on its body, followed by a line of 6-12 knobs or "knuckles" leading to its tail. The tail flukes are deeply notched and have pointed tips. The best way to identify a grey whale is during its dive, when the low hump and knuckles are clearly visible.
This whale has a low, bushy, and sometimes heart- or V-shaped blow due to its paired blowholes. It is usually solitary, though mother-calf pairs are commonly seen during migration. Its surface behaviour is fairly subdued (grey whales are sometimes referred to as 'breathing rocks') and mostly consists of blows, dives, spyhopping, and occasionally breaching.
See the BC Cetacean Sightings Network species page for more identification information. See the ARKive species page for grey whale videos.
Habitat & Range
Grey whales migrate along the west coast of North America between their summer feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, to their winter breeding and calving range along the Baja Peninsula and into the Gulf of California (click here for a migration route map). This round-trip route of 1500-2000 km is one of the longest mammal migrations in the world. Approximately 35-50 grey whales spend the summer off the coast of British Columbia instead of going further north - these "resident" whales feed shallow bays with mud-sand bottoms. The whales that go all the way north travel along the BC coast in early spring, and pass by again in late fall and early winter as they head southward. While they usually travel further offshore, occasionally individuals are spotted in more inshore waters.
Another population of grey whales, considered genetically distinct, migrates in the western Pacific Ocean along the coasts of Russia, Japan, China, and Korea. This population is considered critically endangered, at around 100-200 individuals. An Atlantic grey whale population was extirpated before the end of the 1800's.
Similar Species
The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and they grey whale are fairly similar in size; the latter can be distinguished by its mottled-grey skin marked by barnacle patches and its low hump followed by "knuckles." The humpbacks is more uniformly grey (its underside may be marked by white patches); it has a small, stubby dorsal fin atop a low hump; and knobs line the top of its head and lower jaw
Human Uses
Grey whales were targeted by commercial whalers in the 19th and early 20th centuries, resulting in a population decrease in the eastern Pacific population from over 20 thousand to an estimated 2000. Since they were protected from whaling in 1946 the population has rebounded to an estimated 18-26 thousand.
Intriguing Info
While the eastern and western grey whale populations are considered genetically distinct, a recent cross-over by a male western grey whale into the eastern grey whale range indicates that the two populations may not be as separate as previously thought. This whale, named Flex, traveled over 8500 km in 124 days. Click here for more information.
Conservation: The recovery of the eastern grey whale population after its protection is considered a conservation success story, however the post-recovery high of 27,000 individuals in 1998 was followed by a rapid decline by one-third over 4 years. Since 2002 numbers have been stable or increasing, but there are still many factors that could negatively impact the population. Boat collisions, entanglement in fishing gear, and noise disturbance from boats and oil development activities pose both immediate and long-term, cumulative threats to grey whales, and could impact their migration routes. The grey whale is a blue-listed species in BC, and is protected as a species of special concern by Canada's Species At Risk Act. See the SARA species page and the COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report for more information.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/41478-Eschrichtius-robustus
The grey whale is a baleen whale. It has a robust body to 15 m long, with a distinctively narrow, slightly bowed head and a long, downward-curving mouthline. Its dark grey body has lighter grey and white patches, giving it a mottled appearance; adding to this effect are patches of white barnacles (Cryptolepas rachianecti) and orange whale lice (Cyamus scammoni) on its skin. Instead of a dorsal fin, the grey whale has a low hump set far back on its body, followed by a line of 6-12 knobs or "knuckles" leading to its tail. The tail flukes are deeply notched and have pointed tips. The best way to identify a grey whale is during its dive, when the low hump and knuckles are clearly visible.
This whale has a low, bushy, and sometimes heart- or V-shaped blow due to its paired blowholes. It is usually solitary, though mother-calf pairs are commonly seen during migration. Its surface behaviour is fairly subdued (grey whales are sometimes referred to as 'breathing rocks') and mostly consists of blows, dives, spyhopping, and occasionally breaching.
See the BC Cetacean Sightings Network species page for more identification information. See the ARKive species page for grey whale videos.
Habitat & Range
Grey whales migrate along the west coast of North America between their summer feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, to their winter breeding and calving range along the Baja Peninsula and into the Gulf of California (click here for a migration route map). This round-trip route of 1500-2000 km is one of the longest mammal migrations in the world. Approximately 35-50 grey whales spend the summer off the coast of British Columbia instead of going further north - these "resident" whales feed shallow bays with mud-sand bottoms. The whales that go all the way north travel along the BC coast in early spring, and pass by again in late fall and early winter as they head southward. While they usually travel further offshore, occasionally individuals are spotted in more inshore waters.
Another population of grey whales, considered genetically distinct, migrates in the western Pacific Ocean along the coasts of Russia, Japan, China, and Korea. This population is considered critically endangered, at around 100-200 individuals. An Atlantic grey whale population was extirpated before the end of the 1800's.
Similar Species
The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and they grey whale are fairly similar in size; the latter can be distinguished by its mottled-grey skin marked by barnacle patches and its low hump followed by "knuckles." The humpbacks is more uniformly grey (its underside may be marked by white patches); it has a small, stubby dorsal fin atop a low hump; and knobs line the top of its head and lower jaw
Human Uses
Grey whales were targeted by commercial whalers in the 19th and early 20th centuries, resulting in a population decrease in the eastern Pacific population from over 20 thousand to an estimated 2000. Since they were protected from whaling in 1946 the population has rebounded to an estimated 18-26 thousand.
Intriguing Info
While the eastern and western grey whale populations are considered genetically distinct, a recent cross-over by a male western grey whale into the eastern grey whale range indicates that the two populations may not be as separate as previously thought. This whale, named Flex, traveled over 8500 km in 124 days. Click here for more information.
Conservation: The recovery of the eastern grey whale population after its protection is considered a conservation success story, however the post-recovery high of 27,000 individuals in 1998 was followed by a rapid decline by one-third over 4 years. Since 2002 numbers have been stable or increasing, but there are still many factors that could negatively impact the population. Boat collisions, entanglement in fishing gear, and noise disturbance from boats and oil development activities pose both immediate and long-term, cumulative threats to grey whales, and could impact their migration routes. The grey whale is a blue-listed species in BC, and is protected as a species of special concern by Canada's Species At Risk Act. See the SARA species page and the COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report for more information.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/41478-Eschrichtius-robustus
References
Harbo, R. M. (1999). Whelks to whales: Coastal marine life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. Pp. 188-189.
Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus). Wild Whales B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network. Vancouver Aquarium. Accessed 08/08/2014.
Eschrichtius robustus (Lilljeborg, 1861). In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Fauna of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 08/08/2014.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2014).
Harbo, R. M. (1999). Whelks to whales: Coastal marine life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. Pp. 188-189.
Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus). Wild Whales B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network. Vancouver Aquarium. Accessed 08/08/2014.
Eschrichtius robustus (Lilljeborg, 1861). In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Fauna of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 08/08/2014.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2014).