Species: Eschrichtius robustus
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

This is a large, gray mottled baleen whale lacking a dorsal fin. The head is narrow with an arched profile. Baleen is yellowish white and 2-10 inches (5-25 cm) long. Two nostrils are present. A middorsal hump is followed by a series of about 6-12 bumps. Flippers are short and broad. Body is varyingly colored by patches of barnacles and cyamid crustaceans. Calves are more uniformly dark than are adults. Maximum length is around 50 feet (15 meters). Sources: Leatherwood and Reeves (1983), Nowak (1991).
Articles:
An article published in PLoS ONE in 2021 describes a study of hormone concentrations in gray whales. The findings may contribute to increased knowledge of reproductive physiology and population dynamics among the species.

Each spring, about a dozen gray whales make a brief detour into the Salish Sea before heading north to their feeding grounds in the Arctic. Biologists dubbed these whales "Sounders" after first noting their presence in the 1990s, and the whales have become rare but widely anticipated visitors to local waters. The whales were spotted again this year, but biologists have documented a 24 percent decline in gray whale populations along the West Coast.

This article was originally published by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as part of its annual report Threatened and Endangered Wildlife in Washington.

Classification
Mammalia
Cetacea
Eschrichtiidae
Eschrichtius
NatureServe
Classification
Ecology and Life History
This is a large, gray mottled baleen whale lacking a dorsal fin. The head is narrow with an arched profile. Baleen is yellowish white and 2-10 inches (5-25 cm) long. Two nostrils are present. A middorsal hump is followed by a series of about 6-12 bumps. Flippers are short and broad. Body is varyingly colored by patches of barnacles and cyamid crustaceans. Calves are more uniformly dark than are adults. Maximum length is around 50 feet (15 meters). Sources: Leatherwood and Reeves (1983), Nowak (1991).