Ranging, for the most part, in the North Pacific, the Gray Whale was once present in the North Atlantic as well.
Grays grow to a large size.
Male gray whales are usually smaller than females, averaging forty-two feet in length. Females reach an average of over 47 feet in length weighing-in at over 70,000 pounds. Legally protected since 1946, gray whales have made comeback to approximately 21,000 individuals, a figure believed to match the 19th Century pre-whaling numbers. The Gray Whale is probably the most widely known whale because its annual migration takes it past the highly populated west coast of the United States. Gray Whales lack a dorsal fin and are adapted to bottom-feeding but they occasionally eat schooling fish, krill, and even kelp.