Skip to main content

Search

Donate

Home Smithsonian Institution

Site Navigation

  • Visit
    • Museums and Zoo
    • Timed-Entry Passes
    • Tips & Guidelines
    • Accessibility
  • What's On
    • Exhibitions
      • Current Exhibitions
      • Upcoming
      • Past Exhibitions
      • Online Exhibitions
    • Today's Events
    • Online Events
    • All Events
    • IMAX Films
  • Explore & Learn
    • Explore Interests
      • Art & Design
      • History & Culture
      • Science & Nature
      • Blogs
      • Mobile Apps
      • Podcasts
    • Collections
      • Open Access
      • Smithsonian Snapshot
    • For Educators
      • Resources
      • Field Trips
      • Events
      • Professional Development
    • For Kids and Teens
    • Youth Programs
    • For Researchers
      • Libraries
      • Archives
        • Smithsonian Institution Archives
        • Air and Space Museum
        • Anacostia Community Museum
        • American Art Museum
        • Archives of American Art
        • Archives of American Gardens
        • American History Museum
        • American Indian Museum
        • Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, African Art
        • Freer|Sackler Archives
        • Hirshhorn Archive
        • National Anthropological Archives
        • National Portrait Gallery
        • Ralph Rinzler Archives, Folklife
        • Libraries and Special Collections
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
      • Behind-the-Scenes
      • Citizen Science
      • Digital Volunteers
      • Smithsonian Call Center
      • Visitor Information Specialist
      • Docent Programs
    • Fellowships & Internships
    • Work with Us
      • Human Resources
        • Working Here
        • Employee Benefits
        • Job Opportunities
        • How to Apply
        • Job Seekers with Disabilities
        • Frequently Asked Questions
        • Contact Us
      • Affiliations
      • Global Partners
  • Support
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Your Membership
    • Give Monthly
  • About
    • Museums and Zoo
    • Research Centers
    • Cultural Centers
    • Education
    • Our Leadership
      • Secretary Bunch
      • Assistant Secretary for Advancement
      • Assistant Secretary for Communications and External Affairs
      • Under Secretary for Administration
      • Under Secretary for Education
      • Under Secretary for Museums and Culture
      • Under Secretary for Science and Research
    • Our Organization
      • Board of Regents
        • Members
        • Committees
        • Reading Room
        • Bylaws, Policies and Procedures
        • Contact
        • Schedules and Agendas
        • Meeting Minutes
        • Actions
        • Webcasts
      • Inspector General
        • About the OIG
        • Contact OIG
        • Office of Audits
        • Office of Investigations
        • Reports and Other Publications
        • Report Waste, Fraud, Abuse
      • General Counsel
        • Legal History
        • Internships
        • Records Requests
          • Records Request Reading Room
        • Tort Claim
        • Subpoenas & Testimonies
        • Events
      • Equal Employment Office
        • EEO Complaint Process
        • Individuals with Disabilities
        • Special Emphasis Program
        • Supplier Diversity Program
          • Doing Business with Us
          • Policies and Procedures
          • Additional Resources
          • Goals and Accomplishments
    • Reports and Plans
      • Annual Reports
      • Metrics Dashboard
        • Dashboard Home
        • Virtual Smithsonian
        • Public Engagement
        • National Collections
        • Research
        • People & Operations
        • One Smithsonian
      • Strategic Plan
    • Newsdesk
      • News Releases
      • Media Contacts
      • Photos and Video
      • Media Kits
      • Fact Sheets
      • Visitor Stats
      • Secretary and Admin Bios
      • Filming Requests

The California Gray Whale (Rhachianectes glaucus) from The marine mammals of the north-western coast of North America, described and illustrated; together with an account of the American whale-fishery.

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

Addthis Share Tools

    • Print

Object Details

Creator
Scammon, Charles Melville
Book Title
The marine mammals of the north-western coast of North America, described and illustrated; together with an account of the American whale-fishery.
Caption
The California Gray Whale (Rhachianectes glaucus).
Educational Notes
You can probably figure out the color of this Gray Whale by its name, but did you know that a mature Gray Whale can weigh over 30 tons? That’s about the weight of two school buses! In order to grow to be so big, you may think that these whales eat big fish. However, they actually eat small, with shrimp-like animals called amphipods often becoming their meals. They also eat plankton, small microscopic animals floating in the sea. Not just their meals are small, though. The Gray Whale’s enemies tend to be smaller than them too, including smaller whales like orcas. Though orcas are less than half the size of Gray Whales, orcas are their predators and they prey on Gray Whale babies. It turns out that these whales have much more in common with humans than one would think, too. As a mammal, Gray Whales breathe air, have hair (calves have hair around the front of their heads), are warm-blooded, and give birth to live offspring that drink milk from their mothers. All similarities shared with humans.
1874
Publication Date
1874
Image ID
SIL-marinemammalsofn00scam_0043_crop
Catalog ID
98048
Rights
Not in Copyright
Type
Prints
Publication Place
New York
Publisher
Putnam
See more items in
See Wonder
Taxonomy
Rhachianectes glaucus
Smithsonian Libraries
Topic
Zoology
Biology
Taxonomy
Mammals
Oceanography
Gray Whales
Language
English
Latin
Record ID
silgoi_68422
Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)
Usage conditions apply
Not in Copyright
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
Not in Copyright
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

Footer logo

Link to homepage

Footer navigation

  • Contact Us
  • Press Room
  • Employment
  • Host Your Event
  • Access Smithsonian
  • EEO & Supplier Diversity
  • Inspector General
  • Records Requests
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use

Social media links

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Email signup form

Email powered by BlackBaud (Privacy Policy, Terms of Use)
Back to Top