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Eschrichtius robustus

(Lilljeborg, 1861)

Gray Whale

G4Apparently Secure Found in 18 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
PS:EESA Status
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104316
Element CodeAMAGG01010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
CITESAppendix I
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassMammalia
OrderCetacea
FamilyBalaenopteridae
GenusEschrichtius
USESAPS:E
COSEWICX,E,NAR
Synonyms
Eschrichtius gibbosus(Erxleben, 1777)
Other Common Names
Baleine grise (FR) Grey Whale (EN)
Concept Reference
Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.
Taxonomic Comments
Analyses by McGowen et al. (2020) show Eschrichtius robustus is firmly nested within Balaenopteridae and the species is moved from Eschrichtiidae to Balaenopteridae. They also found the genus Balaenoptera is polyphyletic with both Eschrichtius and Megaptera nested within the genus. Formerly known as E. gibbosus.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-04
Change Date2002-08-15
Edition Date2010-02-02
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Rank Reasons
Has recovered to pre-whaling numbers (20,000+) in the eastern North Pacific; rare in western North Pacific, extirpated in Atlantic. Apparently secure but perhaps vulnerable due to the low number of, and threats to, calving areas in Mexico.
Range Extent Comments
Range includes coastal waters of the North Pacific. Most gray whales are in the Bering and Chukchi seas in summer (some occur then off northern Alaska, the Siberian coast, and southward along the coast to British Columbia and northern California). In winter, they occur in coastal waters off Baja California, Sonora, and Sinaloa. Primary birthing areas are Laguna Ojo de Liebre (Scammon's Lagoon), Laguna Guerrero Negro, Laguna San Ignacio, and Estero Soledad, Mexico (IUCN 1991). This species has been extirpated in the Atlantic (last seen about 1750; Rice 1998, Nowak 1991). A small population exists in the western Pacific (Okhotsk Sea in summer to South Korean coast in winter) (Weller et al. 1999).
Ecology & Habitat

Description

This is a large, gray mottled baleen whale lacking a dorsal fin. The head is narrow with an arched profile. Baleen is yellowish white and 2-10 inches (5-25 cm) long. Two nostrils are present. A middorsal hump is followed by a series of about 6-12 bumps. Flippers are short and broad. Body is varyingly colored by patches of barnacles and cyamid crustaceans. Calves are more uniformly dark than are adults. Maximum length is around 50 feet (15 meters). Sources: Leatherwood and Reeves (1983), Nowak (1991).

Diagnostic Characteristics

Differs from other large sympatric whales that lack a dorsal fin or have only a low one (right, bowhead, and sperm whales) by having mottled gray coloration and the series of bumps on the tail stock; lacks the knobs on the head, ventral grooves, and the very long flippers of the humpback whale (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983).

Habitat

Gray whales are seen mostly in coastal and shallow shelf waters. Young are born in lagoons and bays.

Ecology

In the northern Bering Sea, various seabirds (northern fulmar, red phalarope, black-legged kittiwake, and thick-billed murre) commonly forage on prey in the mud plumes stirred up by feeding gray whales.

Reproduction

Females are impregnated during the southward migration or close to calving grounds. Gestation lasts about 13.5 months. A single calf is born late December-early February. Weaning occurs within 9 months. The calving interval is usually 2 years. Individuals become sexually mature in 5-11 years.
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
North CarolinaSXYes
OregonSNAYes
CaliforniaSNRYes
AlaskaS4Yes
WashingtonS2NYes
CanadaN3N,N3M
ProvinceRankNative
Yukon TerritorySUNYes
Northwest TerritoriesSUYes
British ColumbiaS3Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
5 - Biological resource use——High (continuing)
5.4 - Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources——High (continuing)
9 - Pollution——High (continuing)
9.6 - Excess energy——High (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (18)
Alaska (9)
AreaForestAcres
Boston BarChugach National Forest53,617
College FiordChugach National Forest1,130,818
Middle KruzofTongass National Forest14,724
North BaranofTongass National Forest314,089
North KruzofTongass National Forest33,146
Port AlexanderTongass National Forest120,681
Sitka SoundTongass National Forest13,459
South KruzofTongass National Forest55,193
Twenty MileChugach National Forest198,775
California (7)
AreaForestAcres
CamuesaLos Padres National Forest8,209
Chalk PeakLos Padres National Forest7,472
JuncalLos Padres National Forest12,289
MonoLos Padres National Forest28,141
Santa CruzLos Padres National Forest21,182
TequepisLos Padres National Forest9,080
White LedgeLos Padres National Forest18,632
Oregon (1)
AreaForestAcres
TenmileSiuslaw National Forest10,818
Washington (1)
AreaForestAcres
Mt. BaldyOlympic National Forest3,557
References (19)
  1. American Society of Mammalogists (ASM). 2025. Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.13) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10595931. Online. Available: https://www.mammaldiversity.org/
  2. Bradley, R.D., L.K. Ammerman, R.J. Baker, L.C. Bradley, J.A. Cook. R.C. Dowler, C. Jones, D.J. Schmidly, F.B. Stangl Jr., R.A. Van den Bussche and B. Würsig. 2014. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 2014. Museum of Texas Tech University Occasional Papers 327:1-28. Available at: http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/publications/opapers/ops/OP327.pdf
  3. Ellis, R. 1985. The Book of Whales. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, New York.
  4. Evans, P. G. H. 1992. The natural history of whales & dolphins. Facts on File Publications, New York. xvi + 343 pp.
  5. IUCN (World Conservation Union). 1991. Dolphins, Porpoises and Whales of the World: the IUCN Red Data Book. M. Klinowska (compiler). IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, United Kingdom. viii + 429 pp.
  6. Jones, J. K., Jr., R. S. Hoffman, D. W. Rice, C. Jones, R. J. Baker, and M. D. Engstrom. 1992a. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 1991. Occasional Papers, The Museum, Texas Tech University, 146:1-23.
  7. Jones, M. L., S. L. Swartz, and S. Leatherwood, eds. 1984. The gray whale <i>Eschrichtius robustus</i>. Academic Press, San Diego, California.
  8. Leatherwood, S., and R. R. Reeves. 1983. The Sierra Club handbook of whales and dolphins. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco. 302 pp.
  9. Matthews, J.R. and C.J. Moseley (eds.). 1990. The Official World Wildlife Fund Guide to Endangered Species of North America. Volume 1. Plants, Mammals. xxiii + pp 1-560 + 33 pp. appendix + 6 pp. glossary + 16 pp. index. Volume 2. Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fishes, Mussels, Crustaceans, Snails, Insects, and Arachnids. xiii + pp. 561-1180. Beacham Publications, Inc., Washington, D.C.
  10. McGowen, M. R., G. Tsagkogeorga, S. Álvarez-Carretero, M. dos Reis, M. Struebig, R. Deaville, P. D. Jepson, S. Jarman, A. Polanowski, P. A. Morin, and S. J. Rossiter. 2020. Phylogenomic resolution of the cetacean tree of life using target sequence capture. Systematic Biology 69(3):479-501.
  11. Nowak, R. M. 1991. Walker's mammals of the world. Fifth edition. Vols. I and II. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore. 1629 pp.
  12. Reeves, R. R., and E. Mitchell. 1988. Current status of the gray whale. <i>Eschrichtius robustus</i>. Canadian Field-Naturalist 102:369-390.
  13. Rice, D. W. 1998. Marine mammals of the world: systematics and distribution. Society for Marine Mammalogy, Special Publication Number 4. ix + 231 pp.
  14. Rice, D. W., and A. A. Wolman. 1971. The life history and ecology of the gray whale (<i>Eschrichtius robustus</i>). Am. Soc. Mamm. Specical Publication (3):1-142. 142 pp.
  15. Ridgway, S. H., and R. J. Harrison. 1985. Handbook of marine mammals. Vol. 3. The sirenians and baleen whales. Academic Press, New York. 362 pp.
  16. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2024. Endangered and Threatened Fish and Wildlife; Description of the Western North Pacific Gray Whale Distinct Population Segment. Proposed rule. Federal Register 89(239):100458-100462.
  17. Weitkamp, L. A., et al. 1992. Gray whale foraging on ghost shrimp (<i>Callianassa californiensis</i>) in littoral sand flats of Puget Sound, U.S.A. Can. J. Zool. 70:2275-2280.
  18. Weller, D. W., B. Wursig, A. L. Bradford, A. M. Burdin, S. A. Blokhin, H. Minakuchi, and R. L. Brownell, Jr. 1999. Gray whales (<i>Eschrichtius robustus</i>) off Sakhalin Island, Russia: seasonal and annual patterns of occurrence. Marine Mammal Science 15:1208-1227.
  19. Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.