Whale deaths in SF Bay Area surge to 14
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Five more gray whales were found dead in the San Francisco Bay Area over the past week, the California Academy of Sciences confirmed Wednesday. So far in 2025, scientists have responded to 14 individual dead whales across the region.
On May 21, a yearling gray whale was found dead in Bolinas, according to Cal Academy. Another dead gray whale washed up at Southeast Farallon Island in Fisherman's Bay on May 22. That same day, a dead subadult female gray whale was located in Berkeley. On May 26, two more dead gray whales were found at Point Bonita and Alcatraz Island.
Causes of death were not determined for the latest dead whales, Cal Academy said. According to officials, data collection has been challenging 'for a number of cases due to inaccessible locations that hinder full post-mortem investigations, as well as poor tissue quality from advanced decomposition, and the lack of available locations to tow for further investigation.'
Three of the 14 dead whales this year were found to have died from suspected vessel strikes, experts with Cal Academy and The Marine Mammal Center said. One minke whale was euthanized in Emeryville after it repeatedly beached itself in the mud during low tides.
The number of individual dead gray whales stranded in the Bay Area this year has not been seen since the height of the NOAA-declared 'unusual mortality event' that devastated populations along the west coast between 2019 and 2023, according to experts. The population of eastern North Pacific gray whales dropped 45 percent during that period, Cal Academy said.
Earlier this year, scientists in Southern California reported record-low gray whale calf counts, according to the academy.
Researchers are investigating what is behind the spike in gray whale sightings within the San Francisco Bay this year. In 2024, only four individuals were spotted. So far in 2025, scientists have photo-identified 33 individual gray whales swimming in the bay.
'Roughly one-third of these whales have stayed in the bay for at least 20 days, and their overall body condition has ranged from normal to emaciated,' Cal Academy said.
Experts believe the gray whales will move out of the SF Bay in one or two more weeks as the species continues its northern migration to the Arctic. The public is urged to report whale sightings in the Bay Area through the WhaleAlert app or through The Marine Mammal Center's website.
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