National Park Service Point Reyes National Seashore U.S. Department of the Interior Pacific GGWray Photo ©Sue Van der Wal der Van ©Sue Photo Inside: Adaptations 2–3 For More Information 3 Humans and Gray Whales 4 housands of people visit Point Reyes National Seashore every year to watch the passage of Pacific gray whales. The size and grace of whales awaken a sense of wonder in us, and we are awed by their Tlife habits, which are so different from our own. A few decades ago, the delicate plume of a Since they were first seen, whales have The environment is infinitely and spout rising into the air and then slowly most likely been viewed with the same intricately interconnected, full of fading would have been a rare sight for sense of wonder we have today. mysteries we are only slowly unraveling. whale watchers. Hunting had devastated However, for centuries whales were Gray whales provide us with connections the Pacific gray whale population and put commodities to be hunted and sold. The to some of those mysteries. As survivors, them in danger of extinction. As a result of oil and of thousands of whales they are symbols of the resilience of nature international and national protection, we produced livelihoods for hundreds of can now glimpse gray whales once again as people. Pushed to the brink of extinction, they travel their annual path. many whale species nearly disappeared forever. Today, many people see living Many whale whales as natural treasures. species are visible from the People chose to save whales. Thousands the of Point spoke out to protect those that remained. Reyes, but most common Governments listened, eventually passing is the Pacific gray laws protecting these magnificent . whale. Every January, gray whales pass And Pacific gray whales recovered. the Point Reyes as they migrate southward Whales are the ambassadors of from their summer feeding grounds in the the incredible undersea world. arctic Bering and Chukchi Seas to the They tell us about their lives and is best along the Point Reyes Headlands. warm calving of their world, but if we listen, they Baja . In Pacific gray whales migrate late March and early along the west . will also tell us about ourselves. and of the hope that it is not too late to April, they again pass the Headlands on make the world a better place. Today, it is their northward return to feeding grounds. They sing to us about the best and important to know that each of us can Humans might find a commute of fifty make a difference. Maybe that is why miles much too long, but these whales the worst of human nature and of people love to watch for whales. make an annual round-trip journey of our own hope for the future. 10,000 miles and swim for almost two months each way!

Whales are completely at home in an environment that to us is harsh and deadly. They dive to depths that would crush us and live in temperatures that would rapidly drain our warmth and life. 2 like us, they must breathe air to live, but they spend little time above water. They surface, they exhale, and they breathe before disappearing beneath the dark 1 waters. The spout, a heart-shaped plume of mist, is like a breath on a cold morning, but much, much larger. Although a spout 3 seems wispy from afar, if you could stand on the back of a gray whale, the spray Commonly seen gray whale behaviors, left to right: (1) sounding, (2) spouting and (3) spyhopping would whoosh up over twice your height. Whale Adaptations 2 ray whales are not the largest, fastest or deepest-diving whales, but they are marvelous animals that have adapted to life at sea, taking advantage of niches in the marine environment that other whales cannot use.

G Photo ©Sue Van der Wal California, mostly in January and February. Fifteen feet long at birth, a newborn calf weighs up to 2000 pounds. It nurses from mammary glands tucked inside narrow slits on the belly of the female. This rich milk is about 40% fat, with the consistency of cottage cheese or margarine. After several months of consuming more than 50 gallons per day, the calf grows to 26–30 feet long and nearly doubles its birth weight by weaning age.

During their northern migration, gray whale cows and Migration their calves often swim so close to the shoreline that lighthouse whalewatchers can hear them breathing. The life of a gray whale includes a migra- tion that ranks as one of the longest of any Gray whales exemplify millions of years of species of . Migration is a adaptation. Fifty million years ago, behavioral adaptation that allows animals mesoncychids, a primitive relative of the to take advantage of rich resources that The National Oceanic and deer and the ancient ancestor of the whale, may be available only at certain times of Atmospheric Administration left the land in search of food. As their year. Most gray whales migrate every spring descendents adapted to living in the water, from their birthing and breeding lagoons in (NOAA) also protects the they became some of the most highly waters around Point Reyes specialized creatures of all time. Gray Whale Sightings Gray whales share many of the National Seashore. The adaptations that make whales at Point Reyes National Seashore Cordell Bank, of the generally so successful and have a few that make them unique. Farallones, and Monterey Jan Feb Mar Apr National Marine Sea-going Mammals Sanctuaries protect over The body of the whale has adapted 7,100 square miles of to make it more efficient in the California’s marine habitat. water. The tail developed large muscles and flukes for more Winds, waves, and ocean powerful swimming. The forelegs currents converge along the developed into pectoral flippers that help it to maneuver, while the hind that legs slowly disappeared. Today, the stretches through these only vestige of those legs are small sanctuaries, creating a bones hidden inside the whale’s body. The nostrils, or blowholes, resource-rich environment. migrated to the top of the head to Gray whales are most commonly seen near Point Reyes when they migrate This habitat is essential to make breathing while swimming south in January and when they return north in March. easier. The rostrum and the top of whales and other species, the head took on a shape that helps including humans. to direct the water around the blowhole so to the shallow, muddy waters of the . This 5,000 mile as not to flood the whale as it breathes. Unlike lungs and mouths of humans, journey takes over 55 days. They follow the coastal contours as they migrate, but whales’ lungs and mouths are not locations. In recent years, small numbers connected. Whales can breathe while are also thought to navigate by magnetic of gray whales have summered in Tomales feeding at the surface, without drowning. pathways. They often avoid areas with Bay, around Point Reyes Headlands and heavy ship traffic or cloudy waters such as near the Farallon . They find food the sediment filled plume of San Francisco Like humans, gray whales are mammals. in Drakes Bay and Tomales Bay, where Warm-blooded, they give birth to live Bay. Not all gray whales make the full they are occasionally seen feeding just return journey to the northern waters of young, and grow hair. Pacific Gray whales beyond the surf. give birth to their calves in the warm, the Bering Sea. Some linger along the migratory route or summer at other protected bays and of Baja,

Spotting Pacific Gray Whales at Point ReyeReyess We all love the ocean’s surface with its beautiful sparkle blue. But beneath it, down deeper, whales Gray whales can be seen from January to early May. are moving with slow, drifting The peak of the migration South to Baja California is in January. currents - whales that are great, The peak of the migration North to is in March. gentle, cloudlike beings.

Poor visibility and high wind speeds can greatly reduce sightings. Roger Payne, whale biologist, 1991 3 Filling a Niche adaptation common among marine Shallow Feeders mammals, insulates them in cold water and holds energy in reserve for the rest of the Gray whales migrate and forage along the year. While gray whales typically do not continental shelf and have adapted to feed much after leaving northern feeding Whale lice can grow diving in shallow water. They typically stay over 1/2“ long, and grounds, they likely take advantage of food may cluster in the in waters approximately 30 fathoms (180 sources when they find them. thousands. While feet) deep. Most whales feed at the surface parasitic, they may of the open ocean, using their baleen to Shapers of the Ecosystem help whales by keep- filter the water for krill and small fish. Gray ing wounds clean whales have adapted to a niche where other Gray whales are important to the food web and disease-free. whales do not feed. They literally suck mud and play a large role in the success of their up from the bottom of the Bering and feeding-ground ecosystems. Plowing the whale, crawl about, feeding on the skin of Chuckchi Seas, feeding on invertebrates bottom of the Bering Sea, a single gray the whale. Several species of barnacles can that inhabit the top few inches of mud. whale can dredge up 100 acres of mud per also be found on gray whales. Whole Gray whales mostly eat shrimp-like summer. Such foraging releases sediments colonies attach themselves to the whale’s amphipods, but also eat surface-dwelling upwards into the water column. In turn, skin where they live their entire lives. swarms of krill and small, schooling fish. the sediments release a significant amount At Point Reyes, we watch whales as they of nutrients beneficial to other organisms migrate past, but only glimpse part of their A Pacific gray whale feeds by swimming in the coastal ecosystem. The deep furrows complex lives. Over thousands, if not slowly over the muddy bottom, at depths left by the plowing creates habitat for many millions of years, the whales have adapted down to 200 feet. Rolling over on its side, it organisms that colonize the ocean floor, or to their environment, even as they have opens its mouth slightly and retracts its benthic zone. Among these organisms are helped to shape it. Sometimes it is difficult tongue, which weighs around 2,500 the very amphipods the whales eat. pounds. This action causes powerful to see the whales and appreciate the great suction, enabling the whale to suck up the Other species of animals have adapted to changes and forces that have influenced food-filled mud. Then the tongue forces and depend upon the presence of gray their lives. Like so much in the world the mud through baleen plates on the whales. Orcas are one of their major around us, every piece of the environment opposite side of the whale’s mouth. predators. The of many gray whales is interconnected, influencing the others. show scars of their encounters with orcas. Perhaps we should pause and ask White may prey on calves, but ourselves how we fit into the lives of probably do not attack adult whales. whales. Smaller creatures make their homes on the grays. Several species of whale lice, an For Further Exploration, amphipod related to the food of the gray Contact: Point Reyes National Seashore Point Reyes Station, CA 94956 http://www.nps.gov/pore

Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary A close cousin to krill, amphipods are the main food White GGNRA, Fort Mason source of the bottom-feeding gray whales. San Francisco, CA 94123 http://www.farallones.org Working as a filter, the baleen traps the invertebrates and then the tongue maneu- American Cetacean Society vers the food for swallowing. “Right- P.O. Box 2639 handed” whales feed by tilting onto their San Pedro, CA 90731-0943 right side. Some prefer to feed on their left http://www.acs-la.org —you can tell by the absence of barnacles on the side of the head the whale rubs Center against the ocean bottom. In a single Orca Marin Headlands, GGNRA summer, a gray whale can ingest about 65 Sausalito, CA 94965 tons of food, gaining up to 30% in weight. http://www.tmmc.org The presence of white sharks and orcas in the waters Much energy from this feeding is stored as Aquarium surrounding Point Reyes may force gray whales to 886 Cannery Row a thick layer of fat or blubber. Blubber, an swim very close to the shorelines as they travel north with their calves. Monterey, CA 93940-1085 http://www.montereybayaquarium.org

Gray whales dive, feed and surface to breathe. Humans and Gray Whales 4 ur fascination with whales has had a huge impact on all species Estimated Gray Whale of whales world-wide. Human demands have pushed many Populations Owhale populations to the edge of extinction or beyond, yet human convictions have brought many of them back. Human Actions Gray Whales Wielding hand-held spears Many people have come to value Pre-1800 aboard small boats, Native whales beyond their monetary Traditional hunting for food Americans of Alaska and the worth. The grandeur of whales Pacific Northwest hunted gray has captured the hearts of whales for food. Europeans people around the world. In the 1854 Shore in made hoop skirts, corsets, and 1960s and 70s, many adults and California begins buggy whips from whale baleen, school children wrote letters to and found whale blubber a Congress, expressing their 1855 Discovery of valu-able source of oil for concern for protecting the Baja Lagoons lanterns and machinery. environment, especially whales. Growing industrial nations Laws such as the Marine 1859 Petroleum first consumed this oil in huge Mammal Protection Act were used for fuel volumes. created to help preserve whales and other marine mammals. 1865 Bomb-lance At first, gray whales were not invented popular targets for many 1914, fast, new steam-powered Such efforts have led to the whalers. Their oil was of poor whaling ships with harpoon recovery of the gray whale. 1875 quality and their baleen was too cannons made escape nearly Today an estimated 25,000 to Whalers find few coarse to gain much profit. impossible. While electricity 27,000 gray whales swim the gray whales Right whales and bowhead and petroleum products ocean, perhaps nearing the 1880's whales were preferred, but as replaced whale oil, it was still number that lived before Native Siberian they declined, oil prices soared. used to make soap, and whale commercial whaling. Whale whalers starve Though less valuable, an adult meat went into fertilizers and watching has now replaced 1880–1900 gray whale still could yield up to pet food. It has been estimated whaling as a profitable industry. California shore 25 barrels of oil that sold for up that as few as 1,000 Pacific gray whaling dies out to $45 a barrel. whales were left in the 1930s. Although gray whales are protected, they are still at risk. 1909 Shore whaling stations sprang Even whalers realized that Whales, other sea mammals and Spring steel up along the migration route on extinction seemed imminent. birds get caught in gill nets used replaces baleen in corsets the California coastline. New Hunting gray whales was for fishing. Unable to reach the technology made whaling more banned in 1937. In 1946, an surface to breathe, they drown. 1914 efficient. Explosive harpoons, international agreement to ban Whales are susceptible to Steam-powered known as “bomb-lances,” were whaling ships join all commercial whaling was pollutants dumped into the gray whale hunt invented in 1865. By 1874, a signed by most whaling nations. oceans, and some bear scars whaling captain and early Yet subsistence hunting still revealing the dangers of colliding 1920's–1930's naturalist, wrote: continues in some cultures and with ships. New studies also Factory ships commercial whaling persists in indicate that noise pollution quickly process “The mammoth bones of the whales at sea California Gray Whale lie Japan, Finland and Iceland. from ships and industry may bleaching on the of those harm whales’ hearing and ability 1936 to navigate. Gray whale silvery waters and scattered hunting banned along the broken , from Gray whales have provided food, Siberia to the ; have supplied power and wealth 1947 and ere long it may be questioned for growing nations, and have International ban whether this mammal will not be become a symbol of the ocean on all whaling numbered among the extinct environment. More importantly, species of the Pacific.” they show how much our 1972 choices and decisions can Marine Mammal Protection Act -Captain Charles Scammon influence the world around us, As gray whales vanished, the and that we can work to correct 1973 harm done in the past. Endangered shore stations closed. But in Species Act “We are the only species which, when it chooses to do so, will go to great effort to save what it might destroy.” 1995 Wallace Stegner Grays removed from Endangered Acknowledgements Species List Special thanks for support and contributions: Science Advisor: Sarah Allen, Ph.D. 2000 Point Reyes National Seashore Association Writer: John Golda Salt refining in ? Baja proposed American Cetacean Society Editor: Rod Torrez and vetoed Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Design/Layout: John Golda & Rod Torrez Gray Whale Monterey Bay Aquarium Artwork: Christie Denzel Anastasia & David Willard population 0 10K20K 30K All Photos © Sue Van der Wal (thousands)