GRAY WHALES
Photographed in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary in California, Shore Acres State Park and Depoe Bay in Oregon.

Once common throughout the Northern Hemisphere, gray whales are now only found in the North Pacific Ocean where there are two extant populations in the eastern and western North Pacific. Gray whales make one of the longest annual migrations of any mammal, traveling about 10,000 miles round-trip.

These large whales can grow to about 49 feet long and weigh approximately 90,000 pounds. Females are slightly larger than males. Gray whales have a mottled gray body with small eyes located just above the corners of the mouth. Their pectoral flippers are broad, paddle-shaped, and pointed at the tips. Lacking a dorsal fin, they instead have a dorsal hump about two-thirds of the way back on the body, and a series of 6 to 12 small bumps, called “knuckles”, between the dorsal hump and the tail flukes. The tail flukes are nearly 10 feet wide with S-shaped trailing edges and a deep median notch.

Calves are typically born dark gray and lighten as they age to brownish-gray or light gray. All gray whales are mottled with lighter patches. They have barnacles and whale lice on their bodies, with higher concentrations found on the head and tail.