Gray Whales

GRAY WHALE

(Eschrichtius robustus)

Photo by: Eric Martin, Roundhouse Aquarium Aquarist Director

Size: Gray whales can get 42-49 feet long, and weigh around 90,000 pounds.

Diet:  They are bottom feeders, and use their baleen to filter out food from the mud.  Their favorite treat is ghost shrimp, but also eat other bottom invertebrates.  Did you know that gray whales can be right sided or left sided? Similar to how people can be right or left handed.

Migration: Gray whales have one of the longest migrations of any mammal.  They travel around 10,000 miles round trip along the West Coast.  They have their babies in the warm waters in Baja, the travel up as far as the Bering Sea to feed. That means they are swimming right past our pier!  The best time to see them in our area late January through mid April.

 View a video of a mom and baby traveling through our area here.