It is common to see them ANATOMY “spying” (spy hoping); they GIANTS OF THE SEA Adults can reach 13-15 meters in length and can weigh position their body vertically The gray whale can reach up to 15 meters in length. However, between 15 and 33 tons. The skin is light gray with with the head above the she barely covers half the length of the largest cetacean in Their body is covered in irregular white spots that create a unique pattern on water surface. the world, the blue whale. PRESENTS each individual whale. parasites, including barnacles and sea lice. 0 meters 15 meters 30 meters The spiracle has two slits, or blowholes; its blow is V-shaped.

Blue whale GRAY WHALE Balaenoptera musculus Eschrichtius robustus Famous for its curious nature and friendly disposition, this species attracts 30 26 The long mouth appears to cut the head in half; the thousands or tourists to Baja California Sur every year. After a drastic decrease in vertebrae ribs Fin whale In lumbar and caudal make up the ribcage of an upper jaw is arched. Balaenoptera physalus its population towards the end of the XIX and beginning of the XX centuries due to sections. adult gray whale. whaling, the North Pacific population has recovered thanks to multinational Sperm whale conservation programs. Physeter macrocephalus

Humpback whale Instead of a dorsal fin it has a Megaptera novaeangliae small hump followed by a series of 6-12 dorsal knuckles TAXONOMY that decrease in size towards 160 Gray whale the tail. Eschrichtius robustus pairs of baleen bristles Human On average, less than 50 cm long 1.8 meters aprox. and white-yellowish in color. Kyngdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Subclass: Eutheria GRAY WHALES IN MEXICO Order: Artiodactyla 4.5 meters Every winter they migrate from the Bering Sea to the Conservation warmer waters in Mexico, where they give birth Infraorder: Cetacea status: between December and February. Parvorder: Mysticeti • Nom 059 – Pr (special protection) Family: Eschrichtiidae Blue Whale Ellerman & Morrison-Scott, 1951 • IUCN – LC Balaenoptera musculus (least concern) BERING Genus: Eschrichtius SEA Species: E. robustus ALASKA Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae A population travels Another smaller population between Alaska and Baja migrates between the California Sur. Okhotsk Sea and Korea. Ballena Gris Distribution: From the arctic Eschrichtius robustus waters in the Bering Sea, to the CANADA Mexican Pacific. Cachalote Physeter macrocephalus

OJO DE Diet: Amphipods, shrimp, mysids 760 liters Females can give birth The lactation period The stomach’s capacity. Its PACIFIC LIEBRE and polychaetes. to one calf every lasts approximately intestines can be up to 6 OCEAN times the length of its body. 1-3 years 7 months USA BAJA CALIFORNIA Sexual maturity: Between 6 and 12 They can weigh They can measure SUR, MEXICO SAN IGNACIO years of age; can live to 75-80 years. approximately approximately 500 4.5 MEXICO kilograms meters 20,000 kilometers OJO DE LIEBRE SAN IGNACIO REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE The distance their migration route covers; the equivalent to Estimated Estimated area area Birth of calf 26 million steps. Estro: Gestation between Lactation (nov-dec). period: december and period 882.6 km 276.2 km 13 months. march. million Annual average Annual average number of whales number of whales NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUN JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH Once lactation period ends, mothers begin an dollars 6are generated on average from anestrus period that lasts between 3 and 4 months. whale watching activities. CONSERVATION TIMELINE 1441 274

SOURCES: •Eschrichtius robustus, Ballena Gris. San Diego Natural History Museum. https://www.sdnhm.org/oceanoasis/fieldguide/esch-rob-sp.html Mexico signs the The Ojo de Liebre The San Ignacio Mexico joins the The Biosphere Reserve Species is included in Whale watching, The General Wildlife Whale watching A list of priority species •DOF. 1994. NORMA Oficial Mexicana NOM-059-ECOL-1994 1949: 1972: 1979: 1984: 1988: 1994: 1996: 2000: 2010: 2014: •DOF. 2014. ACUERDO por el que se da a conocer la lista de especies y poblaciones prioritarias para la international agreements regulating Lagoon Whale Refuge is decreed. Lagoon is decreed as a Whale Convention on International Trade in El Vizcaino is established and the NOM-059-ECOL-1994, which lists conservation and protection Law is published, which aims to activities, habitat conservation and and populations for conservation, conservación. whaling activities through the Refuge. Endangered Species of Wild Fauna includes the Ojo de Liebre and San the species and subspecies of wild guidelines are published in the conserve wildlife through its protection measures are established including the gray whale, is • Ballena Gris, Eschrichtius robustus. Naturalista. International Whaling Commission. and Flora (CITES) which includes the Ignacio Lagoons, as well as the flora and fauna under special NOM-EM-074-ECOL-1996. protection and sustainable use. in the NOM-131-SEMARNAT-2010. published. https://www.naturalista.mx/taxa/41478-Eschrichtius-robustus • Números Naturales. 2016. Ecoturismo Marino. https://vimeo.com/181058266 gray whale under special protection migration corridor between them. protection status. • Steven L. Swartz. 2018. Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (Third Edition) status.