gray whale
Mottled coastal migrant
A gray whale is a large baleen whale of the North Pacific, known for its mottled gray coloring and barnacle-encrusted skin.
Gray whales make one of the longest migrations of any mammal, traveling annually between Arctic feeding grounds and warm breeding lagoons off Mexico.
They feed by filtering sediment from the ocean floor, unlike most baleen whales that feed in open water.
Whale's filtering bristles
- blowholeWhale's breathing aperture
- flukeChance stroke of luck
- spoutProjecting pouring tube
- mottled skinIrregularly pigmented body surface
knuckles · rostrum · pectoral fins · eye patch · body length · blubber · heart · lungs
Mexican Pacific peninsula
- Bering SeaNorth Pacific marginal sea
- ArcticEarth's northernmost zone
- AlaskaAmerica's frozen northwest
- lagoonsSheltered coastal water bodies
Pacific coast · biannual · round-trip · coastal route · breeding · birthing · seasonal · northbound
Breaking through something
- surfacingComing to the surface
- bottom feedingConsuming from the lowest level
- divingEntering water deliberately
- blowingMoving air forcefully
logging · muddying · rolling · rubbing · nursing · courtship · mating · vocalizations
At risk of extinction
- threatenedExpressed intent to harm
- recoveryRegaining what was lost
- protectionGuarding against harm
- CITESWildlife trade agreement
whaling ban · critically endangered · marine sanctuary · habitat protection · monitoring · photo identification · delisting · subsistence hunting
Covered with hard layer
- crustaceanAquatic arthropod with exoskeleton
- biofoulingOrganism accumulation on surfaces
- patchesPieces sewn over holes
- scarringPermanent mark formation
hitchhikers · commensal · white patches · infestation · host
baleen
Whale's filtering bristles
mottled skin · knuckles · rostrum · pectoral fins · eye patch · body length · blubber · heart · lungs
Baja California
Mexican Pacific peninsula
- Bering SeaNorth Pacific marginal sea
- ArcticEarth's northernmost zone
- AlaskaAmerica's frozen northwest
lagoons · Pacific coast · biannual · round-trip · coastal route · breeding · birthing · seasonal · northbound · southbound
breaching
Breaking through something
- surfacingComing to the surface
- bottom feedingConsuming from the lowest level
- divingEntering water deliberately
blowing · logging · muddying · rolling · rubbing · nursing · courtship · mating · vocalizations · curious
endangered
At risk of extinction
- threatenedExpressed intent to harm
- recoveryRegaining what was lost
- protectionGuarding against harm
CITES · whaling ban · critically endangered · marine sanctuary · habitat protection · monitoring · photo identification · delisting · subsistence hunting
encrusted
Covered with hard layer
- crustaceanAquatic arthropod with exoskeleton
- biofoulingOrganism accumulation on surfaces
- patchesPieces sewn over holes
scarring · hitchhikers · commensal · white patches · infestation · host
- Mexican Wildlifejaguar, ocelot, axolotl, vaquita, Mexican wolf
- California natureCalifornia condor, California poppy, California sea lion, coast redwood, redwood
- sea lifeshark, dolphin, salmon, jellyfish, plaice
- California Sea Lifesea otter, sea lion, harbor seal, great white shark, abalone
- Cetaceansdolphin, dolphins, porpoise, orca, beluga
- marine mammalsdolphin, dolphins, porpoise, seals, seal
gray whaletoothed whale
Cetacean bearing dentition
sperm whale · orca · killer whale · dolphin · pilot whale
gray, whale, grey, whales, gray whales