Humans, now

World Population Prospects 2024, UN DESA, medium variant (CC BY 3.0 IGO)

Tracking what's alive on Earth and what affects it.

Humans, now

See it among the others

On the wall: 1,000 or fewer left in the wild

Western gray whale

320to410

From a model

2016

Eschrichtius robustus (western population)

Feeding grounds off northeast Sakhalin and Kamchatka, Russia; winter range partly unknown

Counted 2016, by NOAA Fisheries (released 2023).

Western gray whale, wild; a young western Pacific gray whale breaching off the coast of Sakhalin Island (NOAA caption)
Photo: NOAA Fisheries (public domain); cropped by Live SpeciesLicence: Public domainIn the photo: wild; a young western Pacific gray whale breaching off the coast of Sakhalin Island (NOAA caption)

The latest figure for the western gray whale is 320 to 410 whales, a range from a model, not a head count, dated 2016 and published by NOAA Fisheries in 2023.

Cooke's model, cited by NOAA Fisheries, put the western gray whales at 320 to 410 in 2016, and NOAA reports the population rising.

How it was counted

The number comes from a population model (Cooke's, as cited by NOAA Fisheries), not a count of every whale: it covers whales older than calves using the feeding areas off Sakhalin and southeastern Kamchatka in 2016. Some of the Sakhalin whales winter in the eastern North Pacific, and a later run of the model may revise the figure.

From a model: the range 320 to 410 was calculated for 2016, not counted whale by whale, and a later run of the model may revise it.

What moves it

NOAA Fisheries names these pressures: oil and gas exploration and production next to the feeding grounds off Sakhalin Island, fishing gear (above all the salmon trap nets set there), vessel strikes, eco-tourism and the whales' small numbers, with few breeding females. On killer whales, NOAA Fisheries writes: "Predation by killer whales on the feeding grounds is the highest reported for any baleen whale".

  • oil and gas exploration and production next to its feeding grounds off Sakhalin Island. Oil and gas exploration and production occur in or adjacent to important feeding areas off Sakhalin Island Source: NOAA Fisheries.
  • fishing gear, above all the salmon trap nets set in the Sakhalin feeding area. Several fishing gear types pose a threat to the western gray whale population, especially the salmon trap net fishery Source: NOAA Fisheries.
  • killer whale predation on the feeding grounds. Predation by killer whales on the feeding grounds is the highest reported for any baleen whale Source: NOAA Fisheries.
  • vessel strikes and eco-tourism. ongoing threats from human activities such as entanglement in fishing gear, eco-tourism activities, and vessel strikes continue to impact this population’s recovery Source: NOAA Fisheries.
  • a small population with few breeding females. This coupled with the population’s small size and limited reproductive output makes it highly vulnerable to extinction Source: NOAA Fisheries.

The next count

No date is known for the next published figure as of 12 November 2026 (the schedule on record: annual photo-ID at Sakhalin; published estimates irregular).

Sources

What changed

  • 12 November 2026 Added to Live Species, on the wall (1,000 or fewer): 320 to 410 (From a model, 2016).
  • 12 November 2026 The photo changed.

Every change on the site

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The letter

The letter comes once a month, on the first Thursday. It gives what changed on Live Species, one animal up close and the humans figure for contrast.