Over the past week, six dead gray whales have been found in the San Francisco Bay area, marking a concerning trend in a year with an unusually high number of sightings. The California Academy of Sciences reported that the whales were discovered from May 21 to the following Wednesday, with a significant event occurring on Monday when two were found simultaneously—one at Alcatraz and another at Point Bonita. Most of these cases did not undergo necropsy, although a partial examination of a yearling whale found at Bolinas yielded inconclusive results.
While the cause of these deaths remains unclear, Giancarlo Rulli from the Marine Mammal Center noted the unusual increase in both dead and live whale sightings in the bay, with 33 live sightings reported this year versus just six in 2024. Additionally, the deaths of three whales have been attributed to boat strikes. This year, a total of 14 gray whales and one minke whale have died in the area, raising concerns among researchers.
Gray whales are known for their long migrations, covering approximately 10,000 miles annually between arctic feeding grounds and warmer breeding areas. While they were once common throughout the Northern Hemisphere, they are now primarily found in the North Pacific. Their curious nature often leads them to interact with boats, which poses risks of vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear, two significant threats to their population. Researchers continue to investigate the reasons behind both the spike in sightings and the fatalities, as gray whales are expected to linger in the bay for another one to two weeks before resuming their migration.
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