The press service of the Kronotsky Reserve has reported that female gray whales with calves have begun to migrate from their wintering grounds in the south. Four such pairs have been spotted in Kronotsky Bay in the last week.
The babies are only a few months old now. On average, each of them weighs about a ton and can reach 4.5-5 meters in length. According to scientists, the cubs look good and are active.
For about eight months, the females will feed the calves with milk with a fat content of 53%. While the mothers are thin, they need to accumulate as much fat as possible. The grown-up whales will have to learn to feed themselves on their own so that they can start an independent life by the end of the summer.
"One of the females met by scientists, K072, already came with a cub in 2022. Observers did not meet her last year, but the grown-up calf spent the whole summer of 2023 in Kronotsky Bay. He was regularly seen from June to October. This year she brought her new baby," the message says.
The gray whale is listed in the Red Books of the IUCN and Russia. It is one of the most ancient mammals on Earth.These whales are one of the few marine mammals that have well preserved the features of their distant land ancestors.They are native to the eastern Pacific Ocean.
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