About Whale Swimming Speeds
Most Migrating gray whales swim 24 hours per day. Although the speed may vary, it falls between 4 and 12 kilometers per hour.
Swimming gray whales use a combination of shallow and deep dives. Usually three to five shallow dives are followed by a deep dive. Shallow dives are one to two minutes long. Deep dives are usually three to eight minutes long.
In this simulation, we have provided for a 1.5 kilometer per hour swimming cycle with two shallow dives and one deep dive.
When feeding, gray whales can stay underwater for up to 20 minutes. Unlike humans, whale breathing is a voluntary action. This means a gray whale has to think to breathe. Can you imagine having to say to yourself every few seconds, “Now it’s time for another breath”? We are fortunate that our breathing is automatic.
Occasionally a gray whale is observed sleeping near shore, but this is the exception rather than the rule.
In this simulation we are not including the sleeping behavior.
Some whales are faster swimmers than gray whales, others are slower. For example:
| Whale | Speed (km/hr) |
|---|---|
| Fin Whale | 22-26 |
| Sperm Whale | 18-37 |
| Right Whale | 3-9 |
| Humpback Whale | 10-18 |
