Observations of gray whales from the coasts of British Columbia, Washington, and Alaska are compared with published accounts in order to re-assess knowledge of migration and feeding of the American herd. Source of material is mainly from lighthouses and lightships.The American herd of gray whales retains close contact with the shore during migration south of Alaska. Off Washington and British Columbia the northward migration begins in February, ends in May, and is at a peak during the first two weeks in April; the southward migration occurs in December and January, and is at a peak in late December. Northward migrants stop occasionally to rest or feed; southward migrants are travelling faster and appear not to stop to rest or feed during December and January. Gray whales seen off British Columbia, sometimes in inside protected waters, from June through October, probably remain in this area throughout the summer and fall months.Available evidence suggests that gray whales retain contact with the coast while circumscribing the Gulf of Alaska, enter the Bering Sea through eastern passages of the Aleutian chain, and approach St. Lawrence Island by way of the shallow eastern part of the Bering Sea. Arriving off the coast of St. Lawrence Island in May and June the herd splits with some parts dispersing along the Koryak coast and some parts continuing northward as the ice retreats through Bering Strait. Gray whales feed in the waters of the Chukchi Sea along the Siberian and Alaskan coasts in July, August and September. Advance of the ice through Bering Strait in October initiates the southern migration for most of the herd. In summering areas, in northern latitudes, gray whales feed in shallow waters on benthic and near-benthic organisms, mostly amphipods.There is no evidence to indicate that gray whales utilize ocean currents or follow the same routes as other baleen whales in their migrations. Visual contact with coastal landmarks appear to aid gray whales in successfully accomplishing the 5000-mile migration between summer feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi Seas and winter breeding grounds in Mexico.Reconstruction of the migration from all available data shows that most of the American herd breeds and calves in January and February, migrates northward in March, April and May, feeds from June through October, and migrates southward in November and December.

Examination of 237 whales caught off the northwest coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, during the summer of 1950 revealed characteristic oval-shaped scars similar to those found on whales from other parts of the world. Some of these scars plainly show tooth marks which demonstrate that they were made by parasitic lampreys. Scars made by Entosphenus tridentatus were found on finback, humpback, sei, and sperm whales. Open pits in the blubber are interpreted as healing stages which succeed the lamprey attacks.

The following helminth parasites have been recorded from Cetacea caught off the British Columbia coast. Trematoda: Lecithodesmus goliath (fin whale), Lecithodesmus spinosus n. sp. (sei whale) and Ogmogaster plicatus (fin and sei whales); Cestoda: Phyllobothrium delphini (sperm and fin whales); Nematoda: Anisakis simplex (sei, Baird's beaked and sperm whales), Anisakis physeteris (sperm whale), immature Anisakis sp. (fin and humpback whales) and Crassicauda pacifica n. sp. (fin whale); Acanthocephala: Bolbosoma turbinella (sei whale). Crassicauda pacifica and L. spinosus are illustrated and described, and compared with known species of their respective genera. The variations in morphology and measurements are discussed for O. plicatus. Notes on host and geographical distribution are cited for all parasites. Lecithodesmus goliath and O. plicatus are reported for the first time from the Pacific and P. delphini was previously unknown in the North Pacific. Bolbosoma turbinella is a new record for the northeast Pacific and A. physeteris for the Pacific coast of Canada. Baird's beaked whale and possibly the sperm whale are new host records for A. simplex. The fin whale is a new host record for P. delphini and L. goliath.

The colour of 184 humpback whales (Megaptera nodosa), was studied at the Coal Harbour whaling station on Vancouver Island during the summers of 1949, 1950 and 1951. The colour of the throat region, the flippers and the flukes were classified separately, according to the amount of white present in each of these three regions. Humpback whales from the coast of British Columbia differ from those taken at South Georgia, South Africa, New Zealand and Madagascar in being darker in colour. Males are lighter in colour than females, on the average. No definite change in colour occurs with increase in length.

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