Gray whale
Eschrichtius robustus
Gray whales make one of the longest migrations of any mammal. Watching one surface near the coast is a quiet, memorable moment.
Least Concern (IUCN, 2018) means it is not at high risk of extinction worldwide today. The western North Pacific population is Endangered.
Photos show the species, not always the places on this page.
Length
About 12.8 to 14.9 m (42 to 49 ft)
Weight
About 41 tonnes (90,000 lb)
Next to a person
About 7 to 9 adults lying head to toe
What it eats
Small sea-floor animals such as amphipods (tiny shrimp-like crustaceans), sucked up from the mud.
Around people
Calm, give space
How it lives
Gray whales feed mostly on the sea bed, rolling onto one side to suck up mud and the small animals in it, leaving mud trails and feeding pits behind. They usually travel alone or in small, loose groups, with larger gatherings on feeding and breeding grounds.
Where it goes
Most eastern North Pacific gray whales make one of the longest yearly migrations of any mammal, up to about 16,000 km (10,000 miles) round trip, between Arctic feeding waters and breeding lagoons in Baja California, Mexico. A few hundred whales, the Pacific Coast Feeding Group, stay along the coast from south-east Alaska to northern California in summer instead. Some western Pacific whales also cross to the Mexican wintering grounds.
Populations
The eastern North Pacific population numbers roughly 16,000 to 20,000 whales in recent counts, after ups and downs since 2019. It feeds in Arctic and Bering waters and winters in the lagoons of Baja California. The western North Pacific population is Endangered, with fewer than about 300 whales, and feeds near Sakhalin and Kamchatka.
Meet it respectfully
Watch from the boat or from shore. In US waters, NOAA advises staying at least 100 yards (91 m) from large whales. In Mexico, swimming or diving with whales is not allowed, and some calf areas close each season. Let the whale decide how close it comes, and never chase it, crowd a nursery lagoon or pass between a mother and calf. If a whale comes close to the boat, do not touch it.
Fun fact
Tap the bulb to light it up.
Western gray whales are Endangered, with fewer than about 300 left.
Gray whales usually feed by sucking up mud from the sea floor, leaving feeding pits behind.
Some western Pacific gray whales cross the whole ocean to spend the winter in Mexico.
In June 2022 at Pacifica, California, six gray whales were seen hunting schools of anchovy for 22 days, unusual for whales that mostly feed on the sea bed.
Source: Webber et al., 2024, Aquatic Mammals, gray whale fish feeding
Gray whales may be right-sided. At Pacifica, California, whales chasing fish rolled onto their right side in 96% of side-swimming bouts.
Source: Webber et al., 2024, Aquatic Mammals, gray whale fish feeding
Follow its journey
Choose a journey and watch it travel. Every line comes from satellite tracking or documented research, and the source is named.
StartEndJourney (the line joins documented areas; real paths vary)
Gray whale in the Ocean Atlas
Places we have researched where this animal is recorded. It is never guaranteed, and some places are for watching from the boat only.
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Canada
Japan
Mexico
Netherlands
Russia
United StatesRead more about the gray whale
Sources for this page
- NOAA Fisheries, 2026
- NOAA Fisheries, 2026
- IUCN SSC Cetacean Specialist Group, 2018
- Mate et al.
- NOAA Fisheries, 2026, gray whale estimate
- NOAA Fisheries, Gray whales of the eastern North Pacific
Facts checked 26 September 2026. Photos: Unsplash licence, or Creative Commons as shown on each photo.
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