Western Gray Whales « International Fund for Animal Welfare: Whale Division

Western Gray Whales

In the entire world, only about 120 Western gray whales remain alive today. Less than 30 of these whales are reproductively active females, and only a small handful of babies are born every year. Their survival hangs in the balance.

Until the mid-1970s, the Western gray whale was actually believed to be extinct — literally hunted off the face of the Earth by whalers. Then, a tiny population was discovered off Sakhalin Island, a remote Russian island that lies north of Japan. As far as we know, this is the only feeding ground that these whales use, and it is also home to some incredibly rich oil reserves.

We believe our role is to help protect these last Western gray whales from the oil industry, ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. We are also supporting efforts to photograph individual whales — to be used for photo identification work — and hope to someday uncover the mystery of their migratory route and winter nursery grounds. By learning where these critically endangered whales travel, we can better protect them from the threats and challenges they face along their migratory route.

More than 10 years of IFAW involvement

In 1997, we began campaigning to protect the endangered Western gray whale from the effects of oil exploration and development near Sakhalin Island. Then, in 1999, we created a coalition of non-governmental organizations to help us protect these whales and their habitat. Through this coalition, we joined forces with Greenpeace, PERC, WWF and a local organization known as Sakhalin Environment Watch. In total, more than 40 environmental organizations joined our coalition.

Listening for trouble

In 2004, we joined forces with Russian scientists to monitor Piltun Bay, near Sakhalin Island, for bio-acoustics. Through this project, we have collected vital information about the noise level generated by the construction and operation of oil extraction infrastructure. This underwater noise pollution can dramatically impact whales’ ability to navigate, communicate and find food.

Protecting gray whales from oil development

In March 2005, we and our partners pressured Sakhalin Energy — a big energy company active in Sakhalin Island — to relocate an oil pipeline from Piltun Bay to another site 20 kilometers south. Because the whales are most active in Piltun Bay, this move helped reduce any impact the pipeline would have on the whales. Successes such as these will help the Western gray whale survive the very real threat of extinction.