Washington mammals

Grey Whale in Washington

Eschrichtius robustus

Native to Washington S2N Imperiled in Washington

Not listed as nonindigenous in Washington by USGS NAS; native to its Washington range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Eschrichtius robustus ALM 1702 p1Grey Whale off NootkaGray whaleGrey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus)Eschrichtius robustus 01-cropped
Photo: Carlos Valenzuela · CC BY-SA 4.0Eschrichtius robustus ALM 1702 p1Photo: Tim Gage from Vancouver, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Grey Whale off NootkaPhoto: source · Public domainGray whalePhoto: Merrill Gosho, NOAA · Public domainGrey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus)Photo: Merrill Gosho, NOAA · Public domainEschrichtius robustus 01-cropped

Grey Whale in Washington, by the numbers

Common in Washington 44th most recorded of 145 mammals logged in Washington

456 occurrence records
452 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 5, 2026 Last seen in Washington

Records from 2000–2026.

456 total records count every Washington occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 431 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Grey Whale in Washington

Most sightings fall in March to May.

431 Washington occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Washington records (table)
MonthRecords
January18
February9
March54
April83
May80
June45
July55
August46
September19
October8
November7
December7

Monthly grey whale occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Washington, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Washington, with recorded sightings peaking in March–May, with a smaller rise in July.

Occurrence map

Where Grey Whale has been recorded in Washington

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

281 Washington records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Seashore Conservation Area 23
Daniel J. Evans Wilderness Area 20
Olympic National Park 19
San Juan Islands National Monument 11
Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve 10
Puget Sound 3
Camano Island 2
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park 2

Protected places with the most grey whale sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Washington

CountyRecords
Island County 39
Jefferson County 25
Clallam County 15
Grays Harbor County 13
Pacific County 11
Snohomish County 10
Skagit County 6
Kitsap County 5
Whatcom County 3
Pierce County 3
San Juan County 3
Thurston County 2
Mason County 1
Other localities 320

The complete county distribution, spread across 13 Washington counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Washington’s file for grey whale holds 456 records from 2000 to 2026. iNaturalist supplies 452 records and GBIF 253, a contrast explaining why the combined total is not a simple sum. In the record-volume ordering, not a population census, it falls at rank 44 of 145.

Records crest in April at 83 and reach their floor in November and December (7 each). The most concrete location detail is the Seashore Conservation Area, associated with 23 records. Those signals belong to reporting history and should not be treated as relative population size.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Eschrichtius robustus ALM 1702 p1
Full species profile Grey Whale Eschrichtius robustus Size 11–15 m36.1–49.2 ft Weight 15000–40000 kg33069.4–88185 lb Lifespan Up to 77 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Washington in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"