Gray Whale Quick Facts .
Evidence suggests that gray whales once occurred in the North Atlantic.
Pacific populations were plundered by whalers. Today, two populations survive, one along the coast of Asia, the other along North America. A shallow water species, the gray whale generally lives closer to shore than any other large whale. Like its relatives, the gray whales strains its food out of sea water with its long, flexible baleen. However, gray whales feed on the bottom, sometimes rooting in the mud like giant pigs in search of amphipods.