Gray Whale
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| Gray Whale | |||||||||||||||||
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| A Gray Whale
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| Eschrichtius robustus Lilljeborg, 1861 |
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 Gray Whale range
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The Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is a baleen whale (a filter feeder) that has a layer of blubber up to 10 inches (25 cm) thick. It migrates from cold waters to the tropics each year in pods. Gray whales are very agile swimmers. They can dive for up to 30 minutes and go 500 feet (155 m) deep. Gray whales make grunts, clicks, and whistling sounds which may be used to communicate with other gray whales.
[change] Diet
This giant cetacean eats small fish, crustaceans, squid, and other tiny organisms that it finds on the sea floor. It sieves its food through its comb-like plates of baleen.
[change] Migration
Gray whales make an extraordinarily long migration from the Arctic ocean (northwest of Alaska) to the coast of Mexico, and back each year. They travel about 20,000 km (~12,500 miles) each year, staying near the coast. They feed in the cold Arctic waters and calve and mate in the warm, protected tropical lagoons of the Pacific Ocean of Mexico.
