Officials stated Wednesday, in a year when there has been an abnormally high number of sightings in the area, six dead gray whales had been discovered near San Francisco Bay.
According to the California Academy of Sciences, one gray whale was discovered washed ashore at Point Reyes National Seashore; others were killed from May 21 to Wednesday.
Two were discovered on Monday, one at Alcatraz and one at Point Bonita; it stated.
Most of the time, no necropsy—akin to an animal autopsy—was carried out. The academy stated the partial necropsy for a yearling gray whale discovered near Bolinas was inconclusive, and findings from the necropsy on Wednesday are yet pending.
Officials claimed that the whales had perished in an extremely high count since they have been observed in San Francisco Bay.
Why the whales perished was not obvious.
“Why not only are there so many dead whales in the area, but why has it been a banner year of having more sightings in San Francisco Bay of live whales than we have seen in at least two-plus decades, if ever?”
The academy reported that so far this year 14 gray whales and a minke whale have perished in the wider San Francisco Bay Area; three of their deaths were determined to have been from boat strikes.
Comparatively to previous year, more gray whales have been observed in the bay; 33, against just six in 2024.Said was some looking normal and others malnourished.
” Researchers are still looking at the reason or possible causes behind the significant increase in sightings this year,” the academy stated. “Gray whales should be in the bay for another one to two weeks before starting their yearly northern migration to arctic feeding sites.”
The National Marine Fisheries Service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, reports that gray whales, once prevalent in waters all across the Northern Hemisphere, are now routinely found only in the North Pacific Ocean. Said to be around 10,000 kilometers annually, they migrate round-trip.
Gray whales are regularly sighted on whale-watching cruises since they are known to be interested near boats, the organization stated. They can weigh over 90,000 pounds and reach about 49 feet in length.
Among their main hazards, the fisheries agency notes, the long voyage causes the whales to occasionally be damaged by boats and caught in fishing equipment.
