Why do gray whales migrate from Alaska to Mexico?

Why do gray whales migrate from Alaska to Mexico?

Gray whales migrate north each spring to feast and grow fat in the rich feeding waters of the Arctic. They migrate south each fall to mate and give birth in lagoons on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. They do this every year of their long lives.

How long does it take for a gray whale to migrate?

Each October as the northern ice pushes southward small groups of gray whales start a two to three month 5,000 – 6,800-mile trip south.

Why do so many whales die?

This event continues. Scientists are not exactly sure why the whales are dying, but in a newly released study, published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, researchers conclude it is likely a result of starvation due lack of prey, perhaps caused by warming Arctic waters where they feed.

How many whale die each year?

An estimated minimum of 300,000 whales and dolphins are killed each year as a result of fisheries bycatch, while others succumb to a myriad of threats including shipping and habitat loss.

Why whales should not be hunted for food?

Objections to whale hunting. The chief objections to whale hunting are that it is inherently inhumane, causing an unacceptable amount of pain and suffering in the animals killed, and that, as practiced on a commercial scale, it threatens to drive (or already has driven) many species to the brink of extinction.

Does Japan still hunt whales?

Japan – like a number of other nations around the world – has a centuries-long tradition of whale hunting. After the Second World War, as the country struggled to feed its population, whale meat became a staple of the Japanese table.

Why is Japan still allowed to hunt whales?

Japan maintains that annual whaling is sustainable and necessary for scientific study and management of whale stocks, though the Antarctic minke whale populations have declined since the beginning of the JARPA program and those whales killed have shown increasing signs of stress.