Gray whale

Gray whale[1] Temporal range: Late Pleistocene–Recent[2] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Gray whale "spy-hopping" (having a look) next to its calf
Size compared to an average human
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)(Eastern North Pacific population)
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)(Western North Pacific population)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Family:	Eschrichtiidae
Genus:	Eschrichtius
Species:	E. robustus
Binomial name
Eschrichtius robustus Lilljeborg, 1861
Gray whale range
Synonyms
Balaena gibbosa Erxleben, 1777 Agaphelus glaucus Cope, 1868 Rhachianectes glaucus Cope, 1869 Eschrichtius gibbosus Van Deinse & Junge, 1937 E. glaucus Maher, 1961

The gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is a baleen whale^[3] (a filter feeder) that has a layer of blubber up to 10 inches (25 cm) thick. Because a mother gray whale would defend her calf so fiercely it would actually attack whalers and overturn their boats, whalers often called the gray whale a devilfish.^[3]

The gray whale 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.

1. ↑ Mead, J.G.; Brownell, R. L. Jr. (2005). "Order Cetacea". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 723–743. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
2. ↑ Boessenecker, Robert (2007). "New records of fossil fur seals and walruses (Carnivora : Pinnipedia) from the late Neogene of Northern California". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 27: 50A.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "Gray Whale". Fact Sheet. American Cetacean Society. Archived from the original on 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2009-12-28.