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Pacific Gray Whale:
The men who hunted them here in the 1800s called them "devil fish." But Pacific gray whales are not fish. They are mammals that breathe air and nurse their calves. Adults may measure 40 feet long (12m) and weigh 40 tons. Yet compared to other whales, Pacific grays are medium-sized. Although once hunted to near extinction, international laws now protect them, and scientists think they may number more than 25,000.
Up close, gray whales are not really gray. Their dark skin is mottled with whitish barnacles and scars left by parasites and predators. They are also toothless, feeding with comb-like rows of baleen that filter small shrimp-like animals called amphipods from the water. A thick layer of blubber just under the skin insulates them from cold waters, and gives them energy for swimming many months without eating.
Undisturbed, gray whales swim in a pattern that makes them easy to spot. It usually consists of 3 to 5 spouts, followed by a dive that last 2 to 5 minutes as they swim along about 4 knots (5mph).
After this dive, they surface to repeat their breathing pattern. Once you learn the pattern, you can almost predict when and where the whales will spout as they travel south. |