Sealife guideThe gray whaleEschrichtius robustus

Last updated on 01/26/2026 at 11:55 PM

Taxonomy

Common name: Gray whale, grey whale, summer whale
French name: Baleine grise, baleine à six bosses
Scientific name: Eschrichtius robustus (Lilljeborg, 1861)
Family name: Eschrichtiidae
Order name: Cetacea
Class name: Sea mammals [Mammalia]

Description

The gray whale is a marine mammal that belongs to the order of mysticete cetaceans. In other words, it is a baleen whale ! In addition, the gray whale is the only species in its family !

The gray whale occasionally breaches at the surface of the water

With a length of nearly 46 feet, the gray whale ranks near the bottom of the top 10 largest baleen whales.

The gray whale has a gray-colored body marked with whitish patches. It is characterized by the absence of a dorsal fin and a massive head with a slender, arched jaw topped with parasitic barnacles.

Geographic range

During summer, the gray whale migrates to cold polar waters to feed and rebuild its fat reserves. The gray whale is divided into two populations: the eastern gray whale, which frequents the coastal waters of Baja California in Mexico, and the western gray whale, which inhabits Asian waters.

Habitat

The gray whale is a pelagic marine mammal that can be found offshore in open waters. It is capable of diving to depths of more than 330 feet.

Diet

The gray whale feeds mainly on crustaceans, including amphipods and isopods, which it finds in abundance in the shallow cold waters near the Arctic.

Remarkably, the gray whale also captures prey living on the seafloor by scraping and filtering sediment layers using its baleen plates.

Reproduction

At birth, a gray whale calf measures about 10 to 16 feet in length and weighs around 2,200 pounds. The female gives birth to a single calf every two years after a gestation period of just over one year. She nurses the calf for nearly seven months.

Did you know ?

The term gray whale actually refers to two geographically distinct populations, and this distinction makes a major difference in terms of the threats facing these whales.

While the eastern gray whale is not currently a major conservation concern, its cousin, the western gray whale, has been classified as critically endangered since 2000, and the situation continues to worsen !

Tips for observing

The gray whale is a marine mammal and must regularly surface to breathe. Occasionally, it puts on an impressive display by breaching and leaping out of the water !

The magical moment when the gray whale breaches above the water's surface !

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