The life of gray whales is studied in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve
A new stage of gray whale research is taking place in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, work began in parallel with the winter route surveys of animals in March, the KAMCHATKA–INFORM agency was informed by the reserve’s press service.
So far, the whales that feed in the northern part of the Kronotsky Bay are being watched from the shore.
The Okhotsk (western) gray whale population is extremely small and vulnerable. It is recognized as critically endangered and requires immediate conservation and restoration measures. At the end of 2024, the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment approved a Population Conservation Strategy.
“This year we started the field season very early, and the gray whales are already in Olga Bay! The first fountain was seen on March 12, as soon as the helicopter that took us to the Kronoki cordon took off. Another pair of whales were feeding in front of the cordon on March 22, and fountains were seen again on March 26. Perhaps these whales wintered here in order not to waste energy on a long migration. Back in January, the inspectors of the reserve saw whales in the bay. It’s very interesting to see if this is one of the already familiar individuals. But so far, the weather does not allow us to fly closer to the whales on a quadcopter and take pictures of them,” said Evgenia Volkova, a researcher at the Kronotsky State Nature Reserve.
The Kamchatka feeding area, which is under the protection of the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, is practically the first feeding stop for gray whales, where they can begin to recover after prolonged migration, carrying cubs and feeding them with milk. After all, gray whales practically do not feed in their wintering grounds, using the reserves of subcutaneous fat accumulated over the summer. That is why it is so important to preserve feeding areas and not disturb animals.
“The large number of gray whales visiting the waters of the Kronotsky Bay, including those who stay for the entire feeding season, the presence of females with cubs and fingerlings who have switched to self-feeding, makes the Kamchatka feeding area one of the key habitats of the Okhotsk population. I would like to note that researchers have unique working conditions in the reserve – they monitor gray whales almost all year round,” said Dmitry Pilipenko, Deputy Director for Science of the reserve.
The “neighbors” of Okhotsk gray whales in the list of priority animal species of the federal project for the conservation of biological diversity are such rare species as the bowhead whale of the Okhotsk population, Far Eastern and Near Asian leopards, polar bear, Sakhalin musk deer, Amur tiger, snow leopard, bison, dzeren, Przewalski’s horses, saiga, sterkh.
Photo by Evgenia Volkova