In Kamchatka, more than 60 gray whales came to Kronotsky Bay to feed
The gray whales, who lost weight after a hungry winter, came to Kronotsky Bay to replenish their fat reserves, the Kronotsky Nature Reserve told Kamchatka.Today.
During the winter, gray whales lose up to 15-30% of their mass. It takes a lot of energy on a long journey to the coast of Mexico, where breeding, carrying cubs and feeding them with milk takes place. There is practically nothing for whales to eat in the southern warm seas, so they return to the feeding areas of the North Pacific Ocean thin and feed almost around the clock.
“In a month of observations, we have already registered 63 gray whales. Males, juveniles, and females without cubs are the first to return to feeding areas in order to start feeding as soon as possible. But the females with the whales stay in the breeding grounds, in warm waters, so that the baby has time to grow up before a long journey – it takes 8-10 thousand kilometers to reach the feeding grounds,” said Evgenia Volkova, a researcher at the Kronotsky State Nature Reserve, a marine biologist.
For a long time, the hunting sea population of the gray whale was considered to have been exterminated by whaling. Currently, its population is estimated at only about 250-300 individuals. The feeding period is very important for the well-being of the population. Without sufficient fat reserves, whales will not be able to make their extended migrations, carry and nurse their young.