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- © P.Hampton, Aquarium of the Pacific
- Friendly gray whale in San Ignacio Lagoon.
Whalers called gray whales “devilfish” because of the way they fiercely defended themselves and their calves from being attacked by humans and non-human prey. Today we call them the “friendly” whales because of the way they seek out close contact with humans in selected lagoons in Baja California, Mexico.
Facts and Features
- Geographic Distribution
Seasonally from the Artctic's Beaufort, Chukchi, and Bering Seas, along North America's Pacific coast to Baja California, Mexico, Sea of Cortez, and Gulf of Mexico.
- Amazing Facts
Gray or grey?: In the United States the spelling of the color is “gray”. In other parts of the world it is spelled “grey”. The international community has accepted the American spelling for the whale’s common name so it is the gray whale with an “a”, not an “e”.
- At the Aquarium
Due to the space requirements for these intelligent and dynamic animals, we do not exhibit live whales or dolphins. Gray whales are featured in signage. The voices of gray whales can be heard in the interactive kiosk's Whales: Voices in the Sea and may also be spotted during the whale watch season on one of our whale watching trips.
