ObservatioPs of migrating gray whales __........--- ...--·~-- ~
(F:schrich-t:ius robustzw) at Cape St. Elias, Alaska
1Halt Cunningham
Susan Stanford
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
333 Raspberry Road
Anch0rage, Alaske:1_ 99502
~.ms.
1. Bare lslancl
ABSTRACT
H:i..gration, two patterns of feeding behavior and several sequences of
sexual behavior of gray Hhales \vere observed at Cape St. Eii
_j
INTP.ODUCTION M'D STUDY AREA
A SWiUP.ary of published material by PU~e (1962) indicated that gray
whales closely follow the coastline from the lagoons of Mexico to British
Columbia. Based on a few reports from scattered locations north of th~
Queen Charlotte Islands, Pike (1962) suggested that the wh2.les continue
north close to the shore through the Gulf of Alaska. Incidental observaticms,
during an Alaska Department of Fish and Game sea lion (Ewnetopias jzrha.tus)
project in 1977, indicated Cape St. Elias in the Gulf of Alaska, lay in
the path of the northward gray whale migration. This migration was
closely observed in 1978.
Ca1)e St .• Elias forms the south\vestern end of Kayak Island (Fig. 1). A
150m high pyranidal rock, located 0.4 kn south of the Cape, is referred
to on nautical charts as "Pinnacle Rock." A submerged marine reef
extends 1. 5 km southw·est from Pinnacle Rock and a rocky inter-tidal
peninsula extends 0.4 km to the south. "Southeast Rocks" are located
3. 2 krr, south east of Pinnacle Rock. Our observation post "tvas 17 m above
sea level on the soutlnvestern corner of Pinnacle Rock.
NETHODS
In 1978 daily watches Here kept from 22 Harch to l~ July. Bet\vecm 22 J:L:u-:ch,
1978 nnd 24 April, a total of 215 hours "tv~:s spent in observation, \v:i.th
up to 13 hours of observation per day during periods of peak activit:y.
~-!hales \·"ere sighted as far as 8 km offshore, but 53 percent of those
observed \·rere \vith:tn 0. 4 km of shore. Observn tions tl(~re aided by an WlX/lJOX
FIGURE 1. GRAY HH.ALE OBSERVATION ARE..
GULF ALASKA
ST. ELlA.., -,fiGUFlE 1. C' GRAY OOSEFlVATION A FlEA L OCfiTED WHf,LE o 36
~>
'__j
reflecting mirror telescope and 8 x 35 binoculars. Behavioral aetivity
was described on a field tape recorder as it occurred. These recordLng·;
\vere transcribed into field notebooks each evening.
RESill,TS
Higration
At Cape St. Elias northt:vard mi&rating gray Hhales were observed daily in
1977 from 8 :Harch until the last sighting of a migrating \vhale on 13 Hay.
The peak migration of whales in that year was bet\veen 16 and 18 April
(Fig. 2) with a season total of 408 observed. In 1978~ the migration
was in progress by the time of our arrival on 22 March. The peak of
migration in that year \Jas betKeen 3 and 12 April with a season total of
2,147. Additional sightings of gray Hhales in the northeastern and
north·Jestern Gulf of Alaska are given in Table 1, \·Tith selected sightings
shoun in Fig. 3.
On four days in March and one day in April 1978 adults accompanied by
\·Thillcs less than one half the adult size Here observed. These small
animals were doubtless calves. On 27 Narch an adult and a small \·rhale
spent 10 minutes at the surface near Pinnacle Rock. The small \•7hale
repeatedly \vas seen to lie at right angles to the adult pushing at the
abdominal area, presumably nursing.
The behavior of mir;ratint; I:]J.J.les differed in scvernl respects bet1;een
late Ibrch and mid to late April. The former Here, in loo~>ely aggregatcf1
FIGURE 2. NUHBER OF HHALES PER D~\Y OBSERVED HIGRATING PAST CAPE ST. ELIAS, KAYAK ISU\ND, GULF OF ALASKA, SPRING 1977 and 1978.
1 6
f' I' 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1rm1-1 11 11 1 1 1 r1r 1 1 1 111 1 1 111 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 ~ 1 1 1 ---~
. 1977
(/) 140 -·· --· . ·-------- . . .. -·----- ··-· ------·--·---·. - ····-------·- ------··········-.-
t·-
Jo
{:t!
l J :::>
z
n:
80r-----------------
40!---
I I----------.
Tab
le l
.
Sis:1~ings
of
gra
y l
·iha.
lea
in th
e n
ort
hern
an
d w
este
rn G
ulf
o
f A
lask
a,
1974
th
rou
gh
19
78
.
;,.-
~-,...
....
'?-.
., ~~
-
__ L
.·....
,,_..
:7·,__:r
;fD C
: ;::
c:~:
:: ::-
-:\t
.::
:-~•'-
·-''-·
' --
6 A
pri1
. 19
74
Or£
F
ort
Ab
ercr
om
bie
, K
odia
k I.
2
R.
r~ac
.In
tosi
1.
6/
-;:,
l.S
Ap
ril
l97
L:
Bet
:\vee
n T
wo-
head
ed I
. an
d K
od
iak
I.
man
y -R
. i1
ac.
Into
sh
v,
21
Ap
ril
1974
C
ape
Ch
inia
k,
Ko
dia
k I
. 12
R
. l1
acin
tosh
6-
!
14 M
ay
1975
C
ape
Dea
rbo
rn,
wes
t si
de o
f C
hic
hag
of
I.
6 K
. S
chn
eid
er
1/
6 A
pri
l 19
76
No
rth
Cap
e,
Bar
ano
f .I
. 3
5+
T
. C
opel
and
12 A
pri
l 19
76
Eas
t en
d M
cArt
hur
Pass
, P
ye I
. 1
blo
win
g
K.
Pit
ch
er
1/
13 A
pri
l 19
76
So
uth
en
d G
ran
ite
Pass
, K
enai
P
enin
sula
1
P.
Pete
rsen
2;
13
Ap
ril
1976
C
his\
.;re
ll
Isla
·r.d
, K
enai
P
enin
sula
2
surf
acin
g c
lose
to
K
. P
itch
er
"1!
sho
re
15
Ap
ril
1976
H
ou
th R
esu
rrecti
on
Bay
, K
enai
Pen
insu
la
18 at
surf
ace w
ith
sea
D.
Cal
kin
s 1
/ li
on
s 18
A
pri
l 19
76
Ho
uth
of
Big
Bay
, S
huya
k I.
3
D.
Cal
:zin
s 18
Ap
ril
1976
O
ff L
ong
Isla
nd
, C
hin
iak
Bay
, K
odia
k I.
se
vera
l R
. M
acin
tosh
:,
I
20
Ap
ril
1976
S
eal
Bay
, A
fogn
ak I
. 3
D.
Cal
kin
s i; ,,
21 A
pri
l 19
76.
Lata
x '
S.oc
ks,
N.
of
Shu
yak
6 at
surf
ace ~
vith
sea
D.
Cal
kin
s .::
:.' li
on
s 24
A
pri
l 19
76
Cap
e G
rev
ille
, K
odia
k K
. 2
R.
Ma
cin
...:os
h
§_/
25
Ap
ril
1976
T
ols
toi
Pt.
, A
fogn
ak I
. 1
R.
Ra:
::.d.
J.ll
10
Ju
ne
1976
D
ange
rous
C
ape,
K
odia
k I.
2
D.
Cal
kin
s 1
/ 25
Ju
ne
1976
S
heli
ko
f B
ay,
Sit
ka a
rea
15
A.
Petrabo:~s Jr.]
)
,-I
Lat
e Ju
ly 1
976
Sp
ruce
C
ape,
K
od
iak
I.
1 R
. l:
faci
n'.:
osh
]_!
1·4
Dec
. 19
76
Sea
l B
ay,
Afo
gnak
I.
3 R
. R
and
all
17 M
arch
197
7 K
uin
kta
Bay
, N
ort
h o
f S
and
Po
int
1 D
. C
alk
ins
1/
18 :
'larc
h 19
77
Uni
mak
Big
ht
1 K
. S
::h
nei
der
1
/ 25
A
pri
l 19
77
E~st
of
Mac
Art
hur
Pas
s,
Pye
I.
3
at
surf
ace
T.
To
lva
3/
26
Ap
ril
1977
E
ast
of
1-ia
cArt
hur
_Pas
s,
Pye
I.
5 at
surf
ace
T.
To
lva
3/
27
Ap
ril
1977
S
ou
th o
~
Nuk
a Is
lan
d,
Ken
ai P
enin
sula
4
T.
To
lva
3;
27
Ap
ril
1977
H
ou
th U
gak
Bay
, K
odia
k I.
1
K.
Pit
ch2
r 1
/ 29
A
pri
l 19
77
Gu
ll P
t. ,
Ko
dia
k I
. 4
D.
Cal
kin
s 1
/ 30
A
pri
l 19
77
Cap
e B
arn
abas
, K
odia
k I.
2
D.
Cal
kin
s i;
1
Dec
. 19
77
Nar
rm-r
C
ape,
K
od
iak
I.
95
(19
wha
1G.s
/hcu
r)
R,
Hac
Into
sh
6/
19
Dec
. 1
97
7
70
mil
e fl
igh
t Ic
y B
ay
to
Oce
an C
ape,
Y
aku
tat
are
a
40+
c.
S
mit
h
5/
Lat
e H
arch
U
.S.
Co
ast
Gua
rd fl
igh
ts
alo
ng
co
ast
bet
wee
n
co
nsi
sten
t nu
mer
ous
u.s.
C
oas
t th
ru A
pri
l 19
78
Cap
e S
t.
Eli
as
and
Cap
e C
leav
e (M
onta
gue
I.)
sig
hti
ng
s G
uard
p2
rso
nn
cl
--
:u-:
;:_2
l
(c.:
;at.
).
J:::'
c:e
:)1Z
,C.:
2 :'
~u~1
ber
C~::
· s c.~
. -:'
'-'2
:
20
)1
a~.·
ch
19
78
30
m
ile fl
igh
t B
iork
a to
S
and
Bay
, B
aran
of
I.
123
fid
e!
L.
Jol1
nsor
j,.
::;!
-I
12 A
pri
l 19
78
Ush
agat
I.,
B
arre
n I
s.
m.u
nero
us
gro
up
s K
. Sc
:-tn
e.id
cr
l/15
Ap
ril
1978
N
arrm
v-C
ape,
K
od
iak
I.
27
(7. 7
'lv
hal
es/h
ou
r)
R.
lfa
cin
tosh
§_
; 12
Ap
ril
1978
S
ug
arl
oaf
I.,
B
arre
n I
s.
blo
ws
seen
L
. S1
:1i t
h
1./
13 A
pri
l 19
78
La t
ax
Roc
ks
and
Nar
mot
S
tr.,
A
fog
nak
I.
num
erou
s g
rou
ps
K.
Sch
nei
der
l/
13 A
pri
l 19
78
Su
garl
oaf
I.,
B
arre
n Is
. 10
L
. S
mit
h
l/14
Ap
ril
1978
S
ug
arl
oaf
I.,
B
arre
n I
s.
1 D
. Jo
hn
son
1
/ T
"18
Ap
ril
1978
N
ag
ii R
ock,
C
hir
iko
ff I.
6
Sch
nei
der
l/
·'-·
1'
18 A
pri
l 19
78
2 m
ile w
est
of
Sem
idi
Is.
2 .:
\.,
Sch
nei
der
1
/18
Ap
ril
1978
S
ug
arl
oaf
I.,
B
arre
n Is
. nu
mer
ous
blo
ws
seen
L
. S
mit
h
]J19
Ap
ril
1978
N
arro
w C
ape,
K
od
iak
I.
18
(3
'iv
hal
es/h
ou
r)
R.
Hacin
wsh
6
/ 19
Ap
ril
1978
S
ug
arl
oaf
I.,
B
arre
n I
s.
20+
see
n·,
num
erou
s ~lows
L.
Srr
,ith
-;,-
; T
20
Ap
ril
1978
S
ug
arl
oaf
I.,
B
arre
n I
s.
3 .u
. S
mit
h
l/21
A
pri
l 19
78
Su
garl
oaf
I.,
B
arre
n I
s.
1 se
en
, se
vera
l b
low
s L
. S
mit
h
l/22
c\p
ril
1978
S
ug
arl
oaf
I.,
B
arre
n Is
. 9
D.
Joh
nso
n
1;
25
Ap
ril
1978
.
Su
garl
oaf
I.,
B
arre
n Is
. 1
D.
Joh
nso
n
l/
1 N
ay
1978
S
u6
arl
oaf
I.,
B
arre
n Is
. 17
L
. S
mit
h·
1/2
May
19
78
Su
garl
oaf
I.,
B
arre
n I
s.
9 L
. Sw
it:l
1 I/
2 M
ay
1978
N
arro
'iv
Cap
e,
Ko
dia
k I
. 5
(1.
7 v
lhal
cs/h
ou
r)
R.
l'Ia
cln
tosh
6
/ 4
::.ra
y 19
78
Su
garl
oaf
I.,
B
arre
n I
s.
num
erou
s bl
ovTS
se
en
L.
Sm
ith
l/
4
~fay
19
78
Tu
gid
ak I
slan
d
2 D
. l\~c.(\llis te
r
T.!
14 }
lay
1978
T
ug
idak
Isl
an
d
4 D
. ~~~c.;~llis te
r
i;
3,J
un
e 19
78
Tu
gid
ak I
slan
d
5 D
. ~·
.lcA
llis
ter
l/
9 Ju
ne
1978
T
ug
idak
Isl
an
d
5 D
. N
cA
llis
t2r
l/ -;L-/
30
Jun
e 19
78
So
utl
wes
t A
nch
ora
ge,
C
hir
iko
ff I
.
2 K
. P
itch
er
K.
Sch
nei
der
l/
:::;
; Ju
ly
1978
B
lack
Pt.
o
n S
ikali
dak
Isl
an
d o
ff.K
od
iak
1
D.
"HcA
llis
ter
I;
26
Au
gu
stl9
78
S
ou
theast
o
f T
ug
idak
2
K.
Sch
nei
der
]J
1/
Ala
ska
Dep
t.
of
2!
Ala
ska
Dep
t.
of
3/
Ala
ska
Dep
t.
of
4/
Ala
ska
Dep
t.
of
5;
AL
:ska
Dep
t.
of
6/
Nati
on
al
}'L
arin
e
Fis
h a
nd
Gam
e,
333
Ras
pb
erry
, A
nch
ora
ge,
A
lask
a 99
502
Fis
h a
nd
Gam
e,
Box
6
86
, Ko~iak,
Ala
ska
9901
5 F
ish
an
d G
ame,
B
ox
23
4,
Hom
er,
Ala
ska
9960
3 F
ish
an
d G
ame,
B
ox
49
9,
Sitk
~.,
Ala
ska
9983
5 F
ish
an
d G
ame,
Eo:~
37
, K
ing
Sal
mon
, A
lask
a 99
613
Fis
heri
es
Serv
ice,
P.O
. B
ox 1
63
8,
Ko
dia
k,
Ala
ska
9961
5
~..1
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z H
__ j
,___ j
C(
~~~~;:::
' ''
· x=
:tn'
l"'-:
::T
'· ~·-;:;:::~ea·:s;:mr*;p::ns c:
1 a
> u -~~~==m=.,..-m--""Z.!.:-~
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! ~ 1
65
° 1
60
. 15
5"
15
0.
14
5.
14
0.
groups of t\-TO to five animaJ.s Hith gaps of several miles bctHeen the
groups. By the second vJeek of April, groups Here not discernable because"
of the high numbers of >·:hales present. Hhales arriving in late Harc11
and early April generally passed by the Cape •·rithout stopping; whereas
those ,arriving between .14 and 23 April remained in the vicinity of the
Cape for one to five hours. After 23 April they again \vere observed to
pass by the Cape vithout stopping. Also, their behavior appeared to be
more feeding oriented early in the season, v7hereas it seemed more sexu2.l~-Y
oriented near the ec~d. of the migration (Fig. 4).
On 18 and 23 April 1978, pods of 20 to 30 killer whales (Orcinus orca)
were observed also going northcv-ard past the Cape. Their passage '\vithin
2 km produced no visible effect among several migrating gray '\vhales.
Feeding Behavior
~le observed three kinds of behavior that appeared feeding eriented. He
termed them 11 surface skimming," "surface gulping" and a 11 lateral position."
In surface skimrrring, the vJhales sHam rapidly along the surface of the~
\v2.ter \vith their mouth opea. The snout, baleen and top of the head \i'erc
visible. After traveling in this manaer for 20 to 75 m, they closed
thei"t" mouth and submerged Hithout blo~;..ring. The surface gulping behavio"t"
appeared as a series of cycles. Each cycle was five to 15 seconds long
and began \Vhen a subm(:!rged animal surfaced \-lith it jmvs open. It completed
the cycle "tvhen it dove foreHard and appeared to bite the surface of the
Hater as it submerged. U;,ually during surface gulping the \Jhclle s\-::1!'\
upright "tdth tlh~ top of the he.:td and thorax above t-:atc~I.·.
t-:-J 1-i G• C' :;.c.: t=J
.r
,....... 0 t·J t'v) (/: (j t';;_s ~ ,,, ~-! .)
\'. t·; \) t;:; ;:,->
:l
en §;! H > ~-. 7JG) Ul
f--1 0 \.:) t:.j -.J co 1-··· "" H
0 •·:Jf· t--j H > .. .L.;
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c
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SE
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CT
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ED
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ITIO
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ES
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n n
u·. i
w
fl][:J~;t§ftJ illit:K
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EJ:h;:~-::~;:?.~:~;:::;:1'i r~\t···Tmm
wc-:v:·-.-··~·-·=-··~
l__
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D
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_j
Occa~:donally in the shallm..r \·tater near the reef a Hhale rolled onto its
side witlt its uppermost pectoral flipper and fluke lobe partly out of
the water. Sometimes, the whale.remained in one location for several
seconds, but more often it svmm laterally along the shallo\v bottom
through the above cycle. F. H. Fay (pers. comm.) indicated that this
laterial pasition \vas comparable to the behavior of feeding gray \vhal12S
in the summer months near St. La\vrence Island, in the Bering Sea. This
behavior is called boltering by \·Jhalers (Rice pers. comm.). Hhales did
_j
•__)'
not blmv during either the surface skimming or surface gulping, sequence,
•_j though they usually rolled upright and ble\v after the lateral sequence.
Periodically the feeding sequences were interrupted by a shallm·1 dive
' ---' follo\·red by a typical blow. The surface gulping behavior was observed
more often than surface skiE-..ming and occasionally a \vhale made a series ' . -~
of surfaee gulps and then skiln...Cled. Ofte!l a \vhale skimmed through an
area, w.ade a sh:nt dive, then ble11 and skimmed in the opposite direction
through the same area. As many as six Hhales Here observed in the
' .J
surface gulping sequence svrirrunint; close together allmving just enough
room to maneauvc:r. Frequently a large animal s\Varn slightly ahead and
appeared to guLde the group. At other times during feeding activity,
c_j \vhales swam at right angles and gently bumped one another. Loosely
aggn'.gated groups of up to 13 1;.rhales alternated bett·Teen the feeding
behavior and mvirmni.ng in circles gently bumping each other. The gulpint;
and skimming activities generally took place nortlnvest of the reef
----, (Fig. 1) where the \vhales stvarn parallel to the reef in both directions
\vi thin 30 to 100 m of the re'-'f. Areas soul:he-Test of the reef and nortlnves t
of Pinnacle Rock Here used lesC'; frequently.
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Sexual Behavior
Feeding behavior was executed in smooth fluid movements, ·whereas sexu "1 :_-)
behavior frequently ivas more violent. Host of the feeding behavior
..J seemc.d to be near the surface but sexual behavior ivas not. The observed
sexual behaviors appeared to only parts of a greater sequence, most of
.. 0'
vlhich took place vlhile the vlhales ·Here submerged.
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On many occasions we observed behavior sequences of "penis display" and
"supine positioning" which seemed to be sexually oriented. Penis
display occurred when a male floated to the surFace ventral side up anJ _ _j
arched his back thrusting his abdominal and genital area above the
surface. The penis did not ahrays lay parallel \vith the longitudal axis
of the animal. If often lay off at an ~ngle--even to 90°--and appeared
. ~) to be distinctly curved along its length not unlike the curved Laculun
.. , of the walrus (Odohenus rosmaYus). Numerous subseq·~ent observations
indicate males may have some directional control of the erect penis.
Generally, the male rolled laterally from the arched back position in . ...J
the direction of the penis. A series of rapid blows and short shallo~
divec; ,,;as a typical sequel of the penis display.
\\hales attained the supine position in two ways. In some ca~}CS they
rose slowly to the surface tnen rolled directly onto thc~ir back; in
other instances, they rolled onto their back from a lateral position at
the surfe1ce. Hhile supi.ne, their m-:tndiblc, throat, vent:C
_)
themselves fonmrd by sculling Hith their flippers or by alternate
backatrokes of the flippers. The flukes v7ere: seldom used Hhen in thj s
position. Sometimes Hhcn they rolled ·over to blo1v they dove, but
usually they rolled 180° after bloHing and resw-r.cod the supine position. __ )
11 Paired lateral rolling," "fluke display" a-ad "spy hopping" also appeared'· .J
to be parts of the sequences of sexual behavior. Paired lateral rollin;';
began w·hen the whale pair rolled, breached and violently thrashed theis:
flukes. Eventually, the pair rolled laterally "tvith ventral surfaces
together, S"\-Tam sloHly a!: the surface with their flippers laying upon the
opposite "\-!hale. Thus together they moved fon1ard, rotating slovly as a
unit on the long axis, flukes moving in unison, alternately blmving as
they roiled. Lateral rolling usu2.lly ten::ri.nated as both whales sounded. ,--,
.. )
In the fluke display, the posterior end of th2 body protruded vertically
' .J out of the "tvater. One-third to one-half of the body was exposed for up
to six seconds in this IrLo'lnner. Then the Hhale slo1vly sa.nk, often rotating
'· )
around the longitudinal axis. Sometimes they sank from this vertical
position until only the flukes Here exposed pausing there briefly. Then . .J
it either exerted a forceful thru;;t, a gentle stroke at the surface, or
continued to sink slowly beneath the surface. Occasionally a pair of
,,yhales "\-lith ventral surfaces opposed rose in the fluke display tpgethe1:, ~-----)
then sank slowly beneath the surface. Some of these pairs moved their
flukes in unison.
--,
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Spy hopping appeared to be similar to positions described by Gilmore
(1969) and Norris et al. (1977), except that the ~·7hales at Cape
St. Elias seldom surfaced higher than eye level. At times, t\VO \vhales
maintained the spy hopping position vThilc one or both slo\vly rose and
sank as they moved around each other. Both spy hopping and fluke
display vere observed from 30m to 6.5 km offshore, in depths from tvro
to 30 fathoms.
The surveillance increase was responsible for the higher number of
recorded migrating vlhales in 1978. But, it did not account for the
increase in the feeding and sexual behavior that \ole observed in 1978.
Unless noted otherwise, the follo\ving observations were all in 1978.
On 17 April a pair of v;·hales engaged in sexual activity \vas sightec1.
north\vest of Pinnacle Rock. Tneir actions included fluke display and
paired lateral rolling \-lith their ventral surfaces opposed. They mvam
tm.;rard the shore until they were in the intertidal zone in less than !~ m
of \vater. There the penis of the rnale '\.;ras seen seven or eight times in
various stages of erection and insertion. About 35 to 40 m offshore the
pair turned an.d svmm parallel to the shore, laterally rolling as a unit
and alternately blmving. After approximately five minutes the penis w.2s
again observed partially inserted. As they turned offshore, the male
ro!..led onto his back in a penis display as previously described.· Frequently)
sexually active or copulating paL~s were accompanied by one to four
animals. These accompaning Hhales '"ere at times directly under or alor:.g
side the:; active pnir as described by Hatler and Darling (197Lf) and
Bal.d.cidge (197l~). At one U.nh:• on 17 April six sexually active pairs
were observed \-Tithin one square km bet1veen the southHest reef ancl the:
Peninsula. A total of 2!i Hhales Here involved vith these six pairs"
A lateral rolling sequence observed on 1.8 April appeared to involve only
tHo animals. Ho\·lever, after approximately ten minutes, one of the
v1hales surfaced ventral side up with the penises of hro different males
laying across its abdomen.
A i-7hale in the supine position \vas observed from 0930 hours until 1200
hours on 21 April bet\veen the Peninsula and southsv-est Reef. Its genital
area Has exposed m::>st of the time as it maintained this posltion. The
area surrounding the genital opening Has raised above the general contour
of the body. Two shorter slits (mammary slits) along side and parallel
to the genital opening ,.;ere in this raised .::.rea. This apparently \Vas a
fem..'1le. Hhales in the supine position lay alone, as in this case, but
more often. they weJ~e accompanied. Then the supine positioning ,.ms
interrupted by rapid rolling, extended sounding, heavy thrusting of the
flippers a-,~:: flukes at the surface and occasionally the paired lateral
rolling. Other supine positioned Hhales ·pere accompa.nied by spy hopping
vrhales.
Sometimes spy hopping appeared to precede sexual sequences; on 17 April
an exaggerated spy hopping behavior termin.:J.ted in au apparent sexual
seque:::tce. For 20 minutes, tlvo -.;v-hales repeatedly rose an(1. sank in the
spy hopping ;uode. Suddenly, Hith their ventral su-rfac.2s opposed, they
rose vertically out of the 1v-ater beyond t}y,•_ level of their flippers and
fell hack':van1, m·7ay from each other.
http:su-rfac.2s
On 14 April a Hhale thrust the rear third of its body vertically above
the water as it dove foreHard. A second \·Thale 1;.1ith larger flukes
surfaced ventral side up, immedLctely behind the small Hhale and made a
bad::vrard rolling dive from the surface. This resulted in the tHo vhales
coming together ventrally, \vhereupon they both slid slowly beneath the
surface. Fluke displays \vere observed near Southeast Rocks in 1977.
During the third week of April vrhen the sexual activity \vas greatest, \-Je
noticed that the \vhales did not always blow in a "normal" sequence. The ~-- j
normal progression of a gray \vhale bloH tvas 1) the prm-1-like area ahead
of the blmv-hole appeared fi::::-st, then the blowhole, 2) exhale-inhale,
3) head disappeared beneath the surface, 4) dorsal humps broke the
surface, and 5) the animal dove fore-.;-:ard, \'lith or without the flukes
sho>..Jing. Eo,.;e'ler, during sexual activity, the 'dhalc-'! occasionally
appeared to float to the surface with the body arched. The dorsal humps
_j \-Jere first to appear follmved by the head and then after blmving, the
body sJ.id bacla.;a:rd beneath the \vater. Sometimes, this slide conthm0.d
until the head and snout came up, then all sank beneath the surface. On
other occasions~ after the dorsal hlllups broke the surface, the >·rhale
sounded v7ithout blmving.
The number of whales sighted per day began to decrease by mid April, but )
the groups and recognizable individuals that did arrive remained in the
vicinity for extended periods. Several individuals \vere seen for four
hours on 16 and 17 ApriL By 2?. April a decreasing level of behavioral
activities accompanied the decrease of total daily sightings (Fig. 4).
These activities vere sporadic aft.cr 23 April. __j
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DISCUSSION
The numerous observations from Cape St. Elias and sightings reported
from other localities along the Gulf of Alaska indicate that the nortln.'ccrcl
migration of gray Hhales closely folloHs the coast in this region. They
pass Cape St. Elias, turn north1·7est and apparently parallel the coast __ )
tm.;rard the Copper River. Numerous sightings indicate the tv-hales then
mo~le south\.Jest along the east coast of Hinchinbrook Island and Hontague
Island. Apparently, they cross Blying Sound following the coast of the
' __ ) Kenai Peninsula to Kennedy Entrance. Observations beyond the Barren
Islands are scattered. Sightings indicate they turn south•.;est in the
Barren Islands and pass close to the east shore of Afognak Island and
then doHn the east coast of Kodiak Island. Scattered sightings at
- 1 Tugidak, Chirikof and the Sewidi Islands suggest that some of the mignlilts
leave the coast south of Kodiak and cross tmv-ard the Alaska Peninsula
·well offshore before going through Unimak Pass, into the Bering Sea. (~ _)
Pike (1962) calculated that the gray ,,,ha.le.s migrate north;.vard at approxirnately
50 nautical miles per day (9 2. 5 km/ day) . Cape St. Elias lies approximately
1200 nautical miles north of Cape Flattery along the 50 fathom curve
(Pike 1962). Assuming that the Hhales travel at a steady rate (Rice and
Holman 1971):. they 'vould require approximately 24 detys to cover th3.t
distance. Observations published by Pike (1962) Hatler and Darling
(1974) and Hart (1977) indicate the spring migration peaks off Vancouver
Island from late Narch to mid Apr:tl. At Cap~: St. Elias the migration
peak w-as the second and third r.v-c.ek of Aprll in 1977 and 19/8. This doe~:;
not indicate the necessary 2/t da.ys of migra.tion.
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http:r.v-c.ek
There are at least three possible explanations: 1) Pike (1962) feels
the date of the migration peaks may differ from year to year. Our data
from Cape St. Elias (Fig. 2) suggests· a difference of 10 to 14 days
bctHeen 1977 and 1978. 2) The north\vard rate of spring migration is
__ l not o.ne half the southFard rate of the fall migration (Pike 1962), but
may b
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eray Hhale rcstr'.:::tc~d their surface skimming ancl sur face gulping
activities to a small area northuest of the reef and Pinnacle Rock
(Fig. 1). The surface gulping behavior of the Hhales at Cape St. Elias
closely resembled feeding activity reported by Hellington ancl Anderson
(1978) of a gray w·halc in Southern California, except that as \ve smv it,
it was done moving foreHard in open uater, rather than stationary in a
kelp bed. The lateral position engaged in by gray \vhales over: the reef
at Cape St. Elias was the same kind of feeding behavior engaged in by
gray whales .in the sununer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea, according
t.o F. H. Fay (pers. cornm.), who has observed it in both localities.
The sexual behavior of gray Hhales observed at Cape St. Elias resembled
similar activity reported from other locations along the northward
r-tigration route. Houck (1962) observed p:dred lateral rolling ancl
penis display in northern California in mid :Harch. Baldridge (197/f)
reported paired lateral rolling, penis display and several copulation_::;
off central California during late Harch and early April. Rice and
Holman (1971), citing C. E. Hunson (pers. COilli'U.) reported apparent
courtship and penis display by gray tvhales migrating northHard along the
coast of Hashington in April, and HaT.:ler and Darling (197ft) reported
possible mating behavior off Vancouver Island on 26 April. On April 5, 6
and 14 sexual behavior was observed among gray \vhale pairs off ]:Jachena
Point, British Columbia by Hart (1977). The significance of these
behaviors, which took place \vell after the late autumn-early H:Lnter
breeding seeson (Rice and Holman, 1971), is not clear at this time. He
suggest that it may l>e merely sexual experim::-ntation by subadults and
oth~r immature an:i.mals. This is indicated i.:o us by its timi.ng at Cnpc
St. Elias. The seXLtal behaviors \vere most evident there during pass.J se
of the third pulse of migrants, v."hich, judging from Rice and ~Jolman' s
(197l:Fig. 2) data, is made up mainly _of immature \•Thales of both sexes.
ACKNOhTLEDGEl'-lENTS
This study was supported by the Bureau of Land Han'lgement through an
intero.gency agreement w·ith the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, under which a multi-year program responding to needs of
petroleum development of the Alaskan continental shelf is managed by the
Outer Continental Shelf Enviornmental Assessment Program (OCSEAP)
office. The project wa.s administered by the Alaska Department of Fish
'.J and G:tme, Harine HaiTh.'1lals Section, through the Steller sea lion research
program. Ap?reciat:i.on is m·..--press·2cl to D::>n Calkins of the Alaska
Department of Fish and Ga:::.e, Anc.horage, Alaska, and to Dr. F. H. Fay
of Un:i.vel'sity of Alaska, Fairbanks for their support in the field and
critical reading of a draft of this paper. Dale W. Rice, National
' .J Narin.e Nav.rrral Laboratory, Seattle, also kindly supplied editorial comm-2-nt.
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http:Ap?reciat:i.on
LI'fER.ATUllE CITED
Baldridge, A. 1974. Higrant gray ivhales Hlth calves and sexual
behavior of gray wh.J.les in the Honterey area of central California.
I J Fishery Bull. 72:615-618.
Gilmore, R. H. 1969. The gray i·Jhale. Oceans, 1:9-20.
, __ j
c· I Hart, G. F. 1977. Observations on the spring migration and behavior of
gray ·whales near Pach,:!na Point, British Columbia. Hurrelet, 58 :l;O
43.
Hatler, D. F. and J. D. Darling. 1974. Recent observations of the gray , .I
,,-hale in British Colu:c.bia. Can. Field-l~Rt. 88: Mf9-l;59.
,___j
Houck, H. J. 1962. Possible mating of gray \•Jhales on the northern
California coast. Murrelet, 43:54. --,
___ )
Ne>·:rman, J. R. 1976. Observat:ons of sexual behavior in m.:::cle gray
LJ whales. Hurrelet, 57:!:-9.
Norris, K. S., R. M. Goodean, B. Villa-R. and L. Hobbs. 1977. Behavior
of CalifoJ...-rt.:ta gray whale, Rschric7rti2/S 'l>obv..st-uB, in southern Baja
California, Hexico. Fishery Bull., 75(1) :159-172.
l __ _j
Pike, G. C. 1962. Higrat:irJn and feeding of the gray Hhale (Esch-richt·£:L.c;
""Obzr'·L-,J.. -...~~)~-:...!'"). .........J ,1 .. l'c·..\. .._~. n ·1 Can...1 J......FJ.. "''1 19:815-83(;.
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Observation of migrating gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) at Cape St. Elias, AlaskaABSTRACTINTRODUCTION AND STUDY AREAMETHODSRESULTSMigrationFeeding BehaviorSexual Behavior
DISCUSSIONACKNOWLEDGEMENTSLITERATURE CITED