Gray whales are now found only in the North Pacific along the west coast of North America and along the coast of eastern Asia. Each fall, the North American whales migrate south to Baja California, in Mexico, most of them starting in November or December. They winter mainly along the west coast of Baja California, where calves are born in lagoons and bays from early January to mid-February. The northbound migration generally begins in mid-February and continues through May, with cows and newborn calves migrating northward primarily between March and June. Most of the North American whales spend the summer feeding in the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas. However, some are observed in the summer, feeding in waters off of Southeast Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. Photo-identification studies of this "Pacific coast feeding aggregation" indicate that they move widely within and between areas on the Pacific coast, are not always observed in the same area each year, and may have several year gaps between resightings. Newborn gray whale calves are about 5 m in length and as adults can grow up to 14.1 m and can weigh over 35 tons.
- RUGH, D., J. BREIWICK, M. MUTO. R. HOBBS, K. SHELDEN, C. D'VINCENT, I. M. LARSEN, S. REIF, S. MAHER, and S. NILSON.
2008. Report of the 2006-2007 census of the eastern North Pacific stock of gray whales. AFSC Processed Rep. 2008-03, 157 p. Alaska Fish. Sci. Cent., NOAA, Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle WA 98115. (.pdf, 1 MB). Online.
- STAFFORD, K. M., S. E. MOORE, M. SPILLANE, and S. WIGGINS.
2007. Gray whale calls recorded near Barrow, Alaska, throughout the winter of 2003-04. Arctic 60(2):167-172.
- MOORE, S. E., K. M. WYNNE, J. CLEMENT KINNEY, and J. M. GREBMEIER.
2007. Gray whale occurrence and forage southeast of Kodiak Island, Alaska. Mar. Mammal Sci. 23(2):419-428.
- SWARTZ, S. L., B. L. TAYLOR, and D. J. RUGH.
2006. Gray whale Eschrichtius robustus population and stock identity. Mammal Rev. 36(1):66-84.
- Search the AFSC database for additional Gray Whale publications
- Discrepancies in Sighting Data During Shore-based Counts of Gray Whales
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- Using Gray Whales to Track Climate Change in the Alaskan Arctic
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- Using Gray Whales to Track Climate Change in the Alaskan Arctic
251KB Online.
- Search the AFSC database for additional Gray Whale posters