Gray whales have many signs of their distant ancestors. There are over 200 hairs on their head. The head, unlike other whales, is very mobile. The gray whale differs sharply from other cetacean species. Every year it covers about ten thousand kilometers to reach the mating and breeding grounds and the same amount in the opposite direction - the longest migration among mammals.
The gray whale is big and agile!
The gray whale, unlike other whales, has not lost its close connection with the shore. It rarely moves more than one kilometer from the coast and rarely appears on the high seas. Currently, two individuals of gray whales live along the northern coast of the Pacific Ocean.
The year of the gray whale is divided into two periods - fattening and breeding season. The Okhotsk-Korean herd spend the summer months in the Sea of Okhotsk, and winter and breed near Korea and off the coast of South Japan. Another herd winters near California, and spends the summer in the Bering and Chukchi Seas.
These animals feed on benthic crustaceans. During migration and wintering, they live from hand to mouth. It has been observed, however, that occasionally at this time they feed on algae. In warm waters, the female gives birth to a cub, with whom they return north to the feeding grounds. Whales are social animals that do not leave their wounded and sick comrades, helping them to stay on the surface.
Gray whale - Reproduction
Puberty after eight years.The mating period and birth of gray whales falls in the winter and takes place in warm Californian waters, South Japan and Korea. The female is usually courted by two males, with one of whom she mates. After mating, the animals return to the north, the pregnancy lasts from 11 months to a year. The next year, after returning to the south, the female gives birth to no more than one cub.
Births are usually taken by other females who help the newborn to the surface so that he takes his first breath. Newborn weighs from 650 to 800 kilograms, its length is from four to five meters. In the third month, its mass doubles. In a year its length is 8 meters, in 2 years it is about nine meters. For two months, the calf and mother live in warm waters, sailing north together. By the end of summer, the cub refuses mother's milk and begins an independent life.
What does the gray whale eat
In summer, the gray whale accumulates fat. They feed directly in their habitats. Whales absorb large quantities of crustaceans, soft-bodied animals and other inhabitants of the deep sea. At this time, they accumulate fat reserves, which should be enough to migrate south and reproduce.
The gray whale dives to the bottom of the sea at a shallow depth and lifts sediment from the seabed with its snout. Then he sucks up this muddy water containing sand and marine animals, monitors the water and dirt, and the food settles on a large whalebone sieve.
The gray whale is protected by law!
The gray whale is the only member of the gray whale family.
Herds of gray whales: Okhotsk - Korean (currently almost exterminated, has about two hundred animals) and Chukchi-California (numbers about 17,000 individuals).
Since 1947, there has been a ban on ship fishing for gray whales.
Gray Whale - Interesting Facts
Liked the article? Share with friends in social networks:Whales are the giants of the seas and oceans! Their diversity is great, but, alas, the number depends on the person. The gray whale (the second name is the California whale) is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales.
Today, the only species of gray whales lives on Earth (the Latin name of the species is Eschrichtiidae).
What does a gray whale look like
The body of a gray whale is 12 meters long. Its weight exceeds 13 tons. The female whales are only slightly smaller than the males.
Usually gray whales are under water for no more than 4 minutes in a row. However, when necessary, they can stay in the depths of the water for more than 18 minutes. The average speed of movement of whales does not exceed 10 km/h. When you have to hide from enemies, the whale can swim at a speed of 18 km / h.
Where does the gray whale live?
Gray whales are distinguished by the fact that they make rather long migrations. Usually their migration path exceeds 19 thousand kilometers.
Throughout the summer, gray whales are in the northern part of the world. In summer they live in the Bering and Chukchi seas. Here they find a large number of nutritious plankton, accumulating fat, so necessary for them for the upcoming trip to the coast of Mexico.
During the migration period, gray whales swim at a speed of just over 10 km / h. It is with this speed that they overcome all 19 thousand kilometers of their migration path. This takes approximately 3 months. All this time, the whale lives off the previously accumulated fat reserves.
During migration, gray whales swim alone or gather in small groups (no more than 12 per group). And while feeding, they can gather in flocks of up to one and a half hundred.
Distinctive features of gray whales
The gray whale is one of the few mammals that managed to retain the largest number of features that distinguished their distant ancestors. This is most noticeable in the structure of the skeleton. It has a movable head, large pelvic bones, very large nostrils, a fairly long neck with separate vertebrae of the cervical spine.
Gray whales are also distinguished by the presence of a smooth belly with several deep furrows near the whale's throat. These grooves diverge backwards at a small angle. The laterally compressed head is usually 4 times smaller than the body of a mammal.
The head of a mammal is divided along a horizontal line by the whale's large mouth. His jaws are very strong and massive. They are symmetrical, barely noticeable hairs - vibrissae, reminiscent of the ancient origin of this mammal.
There is no fin on the back of gray whales. But there is a small hump, behind which there are about a dozen tubercles towards the upper keel of the tail, which also has small bulges on each of the sides.
The color of the body of a mammal is gray-brown with a large number of spots with different shades. gray color. On the body of gray whales there are a large number of barnacles. Their presence explains the appearance of the aforementioned spots on the whale's body.
What does the gray whale eat
The gray whale prefers to feed on silt and algae in shallow water. Thanks to its powerful straining apparatus, the entry of stones and other inedible objects into the mouth does not cause any harm to the mammal.
How does the gray whale reproduce?
These whales mate and breed in the shallow waters of Baja California. Some time before the birth of the calf, the females are the first to swim in the lagoons.
During the first 8-8 months after birth, the female feeds her young cub with the fattest milk. Its fat content is more than 53%. Whales are in the lagoons for 3 months (from January to March). During this time, young whales manage to acquire a thick layer of subcutaneous fat. It will be very necessary for the cubs during their migration to the northern waters of the Arctic.
Throughout the entire time of calf rearing, female gray whales remain very aggressive. Often they prefer to attack first, seeing the danger.
Enemies in nature
More dangerous enemies of gray whales -. To escape from them, the whales swim to the very shore and wait for the predators to swim away.
In the Red Book of the World, the western population of the gray whale is assigned the conservation status CR, other populations have the LC category. The fact is that, being one species, the western and eastern populations have reliably established genetic differences. Given this fact, security measures are organized differently. Over the past three generations, the western gray whale population has declined by 50%. In 1996, this population was assigned to the EN category, but already in 2000, to species that are directly threatened with extinction. In 2002, the total number of animals was estimated at about 250, and in 2006 - already at 130 individuals. There is evidence that the population has been recovering since that time. The annual growth is 4%. Nevertheless, in this case, the survival of the species depends on the life of each individual.
Gray whale hunting has been banned since 1947. On the territory of the country, this is the only genus and species in its family, represented by two populations: the Okhotsk-Korean and the Chukchi-Californian.
Gray whales have been hunted since the 16th century. But in the XX century. whaling has reached an unprecedented scale. Often, gray whales die, entangled in huge industrial fishing nets. Of course, they also suffer greatly from general environmental pollution.
WHERE Dwells
Gray whales live only in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean: from the Chukchi and Okhotsk seas to the coasts of Korea and. Most often they stay near the coasts. Animals love to rest on the littoral at low tide and return to their native water element along with the tide. Gray whales generally prefer shallow water and shallow water. The western gray whale lives in the Sea of Okhotsk and along the coasts of about. Sakhalin. Its migration routes run along the coast and Japan.
HOW TO FIND OUT
The body length of female gray whales ranges from 12 to 15 m, and males - from 11 to 14.6 m. The mass can also be different - from 15 to 35 tons. Instead of a dorsal fin, there is a small hump on the back of a gray whale, followed by a series of smaller humps . The body of these whales is smooth, only on the head there are several furrows up to 5 cm deep, between which there are small folds.
Unlike other species, gray whales have whiskers on their heads.
LIFESTYLE AND BIOLOGY
Gray whales feed at depths of 15 to 60 m, scooping up benthos along with water, and they usually lean to their right side. That is why the whalebone plates on the right side are shorter and worn, and the muzzle is covered in scars and scratches. After each dive, characteristic feeding pits about 2 m long and 10 cm deep remain at the bottom.
When migrating, gray whales stay alone, but in feeding areas (where animals actively feed) they gather in herds of up to 150 animals. When migrating, whales determine their location and further route by raising their heads above the water and looking around.
The diet of gray whales is varied. Marine gourmets prefer to eat annelids, polychaetes, mollusks, sponges, crustaceans and, of course, fish.
The mating season for gray whales falls on the winter months, so already in October they go south, overcoming an average of 120 km per day. Pregnancy lasts about a year, and lactation - up to 7 months. The calf is born underwater. As soon as he is separated from the mother, she pushes the baby to the surface of the water for a breath of air, after which the newborn comes back for milk, which is injected directly into his mouth. Females have a highly developed maternal instinct, they protect the cubs even at the cost of their own lives.
Gray whales release fountains 1.5-3 m high every 3-20 s.
Representatives of this species live for about 40 years.
These whales are known to make the longest seasonal migrations of any mammal. Indeed, in a year a whale swims 12,000 - 19,000 km. For 40 years of life, it covers a distance equal to the path from the Earth to the Moon and back.
The gray whale was the first of the baleen whales that was tried to be kept in the aquarium. In 1966, a young female 5 m long and 1.5 tons in weight was caught in the ocean. After 5 days, she was taken to the aquarium in San Diego, California. The first food of the whale in captivity was: 15 liters of cream, which was introduced with a hose, 16 kg of cephalopods, 4 kg of bonito. She was given vitamins, mineral oil and antibiotics. The whale tolerated captivity well, but still died after 45 days from an infection.
Why do whales need fountains? The fact is that whales in the distant past were terrestrial creatures. Millions of years of their evolution have led to strong changes, primarily in the respiratory system. Water never enters the whale's lungs. However, before diving to a depth, the whale releases the used air from them. Fountains of whales do not consist of water at all, but of air and water vapor.
Known for making one of the longest migrations in the world. It is 19500 km. Migration begins near the shallow coast of California, where the gray whale breeds, and ends near the waters of the Chukchi, Bering and western Beaufort seas, where it gets its own food.
The gray whale is one of the few mammals who have retained a large number of features that were inherent in their distant ancestors. Most of all, this is manifested in the structure of the skeleton. gray whale- mobile head, enlarged pelvic bones, large nostrils, long cervical spine with separate vertebrae.
This animal has a smooth belly with 2-3 deep grooves near the throat, which diverge backwards at a slight angle. The head compressed on the sides is about 4-4.5 times smaller than its body. The head is divided horizontally by the oral fissure, the jaws are strong and massive. 
The jaws are symmetrical, they have vibrissae - hairs that speak of the ancient origin of the gray whale. The gray whale does not have a fin on its back, instead it has a small hump (it is almost invisible), behind which 6-14 tubercles are located along the upper keel of the caudal peduncle. The tail fin has bulges on the sides. Often on the tail of a gray whale there are many scars and marks that remain after the attack of killer whales.
The body length of the male is 12-15 m, the female is 11-14.5 m, and the weight of the gray whale reaches 13-15 tons.
The gray whale obtains its food in shallow water, it swallows silt and algae. Thanks to the powerful filtering apparatus, the suction of stones, silt and other inedible gizmos does not harm the gray whale. With strong jaws and a massive body, gray whale plows the seabed, leaving holes in it up to two and a half meters long, about one and a half meters wide and 10 cm deep. Due to this way of getting food, the right side of the whale's head is covered with scars. 
When migrating, the gray whale keeps alone or in small groups of up to 12 individuals. In places of food extraction, up to 150 whales gather in herds.
On average, gray whales dive for 3-4 minutes, but sometimes they can stay under water for up to 18 minutes. The average swimming speed is 7-10 km / h, but running away from the chase, it increases to 18 km / h. 
Gray whales mate and breed in the shallow and warm waters of Baja California. The mating season begins in December and ends in March, falls in January. A year later, the whales come here to give birth to their cubs. Three months after birth, the mass of the cub doubles. Its length is 8m per year. In the first year, the cub feeds only on mother's milk. Sexual maturity occurs at 8-9 years of age.
While feeding the cub, females are very aggressive and often, sensing danger, attack first. It happens that females attack fishermen's boats, considering them dangerous for their cubs.
One of the oldest mammals on our planet is the gray whale (lat. Eschrichtius robustus). It has been living on Earth for over 30 million years and has retained many features of its distant terrestrial ancestors. For example, gray whales have vibrissae on their faces, their heads are movable, and their cervical spine is elongated and has separate vertebrae. In addition, they have fairly large nasal and pelvic bones.
The body length of a gray whale is 11-15 m (females are slightly larger than males). The weight of adults ranges from 15 to 35 tons. They have a relatively short head, which occupies about 20% of the entire body length. The body is not as slender as that of minke whales. The dorsal fin is absent. There are from 2 to 4 furrows on the throat, the depth of which reaches 5 cm. They allow you to enlarge the oral cavity during feeding.
Only two herds of gray whales are known worldwide. One of them breeds near the coasts of Korea and Japan, and in summer it sails to the Sea of Okhotsk. Unfortunately, due to the efforts of man, its number was reduced to 200-250 individuals. The second herd is doing much better: it has over 26 thousand individuals. In winter, they all spend time in the Gulf of California, and in summer they go to the Chukchi, Bering or Botfort seas.
Curiously, of all mammals, it is gray whales that make the longest seasonal migrations. It is estimated that one whale swims from 12 to 19 thousand km per year. Thus, in his entire life (about 40 years), he manages to "sail" to the moon and return back.
In addition, he was the only one of all the whales who learned to feed near the bottom. After the “meal”, large holes remain at the bottom, the depth of which reaches 2.5 m. Together with food, the whales scoop up water, silt and pebbles, filtering them through a whalebone. Interestingly, for this they lean to the right side (rarely vice versa). Therefore, the baleen on the right side is always more worn than on the left.
Gray whales love shallow water so much that sometimes they forget to swim back to the ocean at low tide. Fortunately, such forgetfulness does not harm them at all: the whales calmly wait for the tide and, together with it, go to the open sea.
In October, gray whales go to warm shallow bays. Every day they pass about 120 km along the coast. Already in December-January, travelers arrive at the place to start breeding. The first to get here are pregnant females, whose birth is already very close. When newborns are born, mothers try to keep them in shallow water, because hungry or big sharks cannot get here.
When born, the kitten already weighs 650-800 kg with a body length of 3.6 to 5.5 m. It feeds on mother's milk for up to 6 or 7 months. Mothers fearlessly protect their babies: there are cases when females rushed to the boat with people, wanting to save their cubs. After migrating to the north, the young whale becomes independent, but it does not reach sexual maturity until 7 or 8 years old.
