18th gray whale washes up dead on California coast — and experts are stumped
A body of a gray whale found on a San Francisco Bay Area beach marks the 18th death of 2025 for the marine mammals in the region, experts reported.
The dead male gray whale washed up at Lands End on Saturday, June 7, the California Academy of Sciences said in a June 9 news release.
No necropsy was performed, so the cause of death remains unknown, the academy said.
It's the 18th such death reported in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2025, the academy and The Marine Mammal Center reported. One minke whale also died in the Bay Area this year.
Nine whales recently died in the region in about a two-week span, experts said.
Four of the gray whale deaths are suspected to be due to vessel strikes, the academy said.
But experts aren't sure what's causing the spike in deaths, which is comparable to the 14 deaths reported in 2019 and 15 deaths reported in 2021.
Researchers have found a rise in reported sightings of gray whales inside San Francisco Bay, with 33 individual whales confirmed by photo identification, the academy said.
'By comparison, only six gray whales were sighted in the bay in 2024,' the academy said in the release.
The whales also are spending more time in the bay, with one-third staying at least 20 days, experts said.
'It is expected that gray whales will be in the bay for another one to two weeks before continuing their annual northern migration to arctic feeding grounds,' the academy said in the release.
What to know about gray whales
Adult gray whales can reach up to 49 feet in length and weigh up to 90,000 pounds, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
They make one of the longest migrations of any mammal, moving up to 14,000 miles round-trip each year. They are protected under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump administration cuts could impact efforts to shrink Gulf ‘dead zone'
An aerial view of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, on June 7, 2024. Nutrients from throughout the Mississippi River basin wash down into the Gulf of Mexico, creating an annual 'dead zone' of low oxygen conditions. Aerial support provided by SouthWings. Credit: La'Shance Perry, The Lens Annual forecasts for the Gulf 'dead zone' at the mouth of the Mississippi River predicts the section of water with low oxygen levels will be about average in size this year. What's less certain is whether government efforts to reduce its size will falter as the Trump administration scales back agencies involved in the process. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the dead zone will be around 5,500 square miles this summer. Some estimates suggest it will be a little smaller, including those from LSU research scientists Nancy Rabalais and R. Eugene Turner. Their study predicts the hypoxic zone to be around 4,800 square miles, taking into account how warmer water temperatures have altered the Gulf's complex food web, helping reduce the dead zone. The different models share one key element: their predicted size is about three times bigger than experts would like to see it. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX When nitrogen and phosphorus from farming fertilizers upriver washes down to the Gulf, the excess nutrients can cause algae to bloom near the surface of the water. When the algae dies and decomposes, it sinks into the water and depletes the oxygen fish and other aquatic life need to survive. The hypoxic conditions affect commercial and recreational fishing as well as cause ecological harm. Efforts to reduce nutrient runoff into the Gulf are largely outlined in the Environmental Protection Agency's Hypoxia Task Force Action Plan. Long-term, its goal is to reduce the dead zone to about 1,900 square miles by 2035. Its short-term objective is to drop the amount nitrogen and phosphorus emptying into the Gulf by 20%. Data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), an integral agency in predicting the annual size of the dead zone, found the river's phosphorus load was up 31% but its nitrate levels were about 24% below average in May. That's just a snapshot from a single month, said Doug Daigle, an LSU coastal research scientist and coordinator for the Louisiana Hypoxia Working Group, a state-based organization working to address the Gulf's dead zone. He emphasized that multi-year data will give the most accurate picture into whether the U.S. is on target to meet its goals. 'Obviously, you don't like it to be bigger in the years when it's bigger, but then we also need to keep it in perspective in years when it's smaller. It's the trend over time that we're looking at,' he said. 'And we're not at square one.' Whether key federal agencies such as the USGS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will have sufficient funding and manpower to gauge if reduction goals are even being met is uncertain, Daigle said. 'There's a lot of question marks about what's happening to the federal agencies and their capacity … between the mass firings and all the other things that are happening,' he said. Large sections of NOAA staff have been reduced, and USGS research and data collection funding faces millions of dollars in cutbacks. Daigle added there's supposed to be a meeting of the EPA's Hypoxia Task Force later this year, but with all of the federal changes, its members might not have the bandwidth to assess whether reduction goals are being met. 'That's all tentative at this point,' he said. An EPA spokesperson said in an email that the agency 'takes this initiative very seriously' and will continue its progress. They did not respond to specific questions over staffing capacity and funding resources. NOAA's communications staff declined to comment on staffing capacity, saying it 'remains dedicated to providing timely information, research and resources.' Several federal task force positions remain vacant as of June 12, with only 'TBD' listed on the EPA's website for spots reserved for its own representatives, the Geological Survey, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies. NOAA predicts the size of the dead zone at the beginning of the summer using an aggregate of models from various partner universities, including LSU and the University of Michigan. The agency will monitor and survey the dead zone throughout the summer and review its estimates against the size of the actual dead zone in August. 'It's about human behavior. There's both a watershed issue and a global climate change issue here,' Turner said. Turner and Rabalais agreed the problem isn't with the EPA's plan but a need for greater efforts to reduce nitrogen runoff upstream. Solutions such as cover crops and crop rotation strategies help farmers keep fertilizer in their soil for better plant growth and reduce hypoxia-causing runoff. 'Every place is going to be a little different, but there are ways to reduce this,' Turner said. Whether funding will continue to support these programs is unknown. Aside from some Inflation Reduction Act money and funds from previous federal farm bills, financial support for nutrient reduction has been 'modest,' Daigle said. 'There's a lot of questions about what's going to happen,' he added. This upstream uncertainty affects industries that depend on the Gulf, such as commercial seafood harvesting, according to Daigle. 'They're under a lot of stress' from hurricanes and the influx of cheap, foreign shrimp saturating the market, he said. Reducing the hypoxic zone before it becomes the final nail in the coffin for shrimping in the Gulf is part of the Task Force's plan, and now is the time to drive home these reduction strategies, Daigle said 'The idea was that you wouldn't wait for that to happen. You start reducing the loading, you reverse the trend,' he said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri in partnership with Report for America, with major funding from the Walton Family Foundation.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
How to Watch the Northern Lights for the Second Time this Week
The northern lights are predicted to be "quite pleasing to look at" due to their Kp index forecast of a five out of nine on Saturday, June 14 The colorful spectacle is expected to be visible this weekend due to the arrival of a coronal hole high-speed stream a few days prior, according to NOAA States that don't typically get the chance to spot the northern lights, like New York, might be able to catch a glimpseJust when you thought the galaxy couldn't get any more dazzling! A little over 48 hours after the beautiful Strawberry Moon lit up the night sky on June 11, the northern lights are predicted to color the cosmos with a second aurora display this week. A moderate geomagnetic storm (G2) watch has been issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s forecast for Saturday, June 14 due to the arrival of a coronal hole (CH) high-speed stream (HSS) a few days prior. NOAA explains, "A coronal hole is a less dense area in the solar corona. They appear dark because they are cooler. Solar wind escapes from these features at higher speeds, known as High-Speed Streams. When they arrive at Earth, escalated geomagnetic activity may result." This time, the northern lights are predicted to be visible from Earth in various locations across the United States. Even a few states that don't normally have the chance to spot the auras, like New York, might be able to catch a glimpse. The upcoming auroras come shortly after the northern lights were forecast for the night of June 7. They were forecast for 15 states. Read on for how to watch the upcoming northern lights! As a result of the moderate geomagnetic storm (G2) watch in effect, NOAA predicts the northern lights to be visible from Earth on the night of Saturday, June 14 into the early morning on Sunday, June 15. The auroras are forecast to be a five on the Kp scale of zero to nine. This means, the light display can be "quite pleasing to look at" if situated in the right spot and the weather conditions align. Should the forecast increase to a six, the colors can be "quite bright and active," per NOAA. Viewers will have a chance to spot the auroras in the days leading up to June 14, however the forecast isn't as strong. A three out of nine on the Kp scale is forecast for Thursday, June 12 and a four out of nine is forecast for Friday, June 13. It's best to look for the northern lights in the hours leading up to sunset and right before sunrise. They won't be visible in daylight. The northern lights predicted for June 14 are expected to be visible from various locations across the United States, including areas that don't typically have the chance to spot them from Earth. According to NOAA, the northern lights may become visible over some northern and upper Midwest states from New York to Idaho. Keep checking the space organization's website for the most accurate viewing updates as the night gets closer. No advanced technology is required to view the northern lights. Simply, the naked eye is capable of spotting the colorful display from Earth if the weather conditions cooperate. It's also recommended to find a viewing area that's away from light pollution, like city lights, that can drown out the colors in the night. Dark areas are optimal for spectating! Did the northern lights really happen if you didn't take a picture? Several smartphones have a high-tech capability to capture the phenomenon on camera if you toggle on the "Night Mode" setting. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bay Area sees 18th gray whale death of 2025
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A whale that washed up in San Francisco over the weekend was confirmed to be the 18th individual gray whale that scientists have found deceased in the Bay Area in 2025, according to The Marine Mammal Center. The male gray whale was discovered Saturday at Lands End. A team led by the California Academy of Sciences attempted to reach the dead whale to perform a necropsy, but due to its location down a cliffside, it was inaccessible. The cause of the death remains undetermined. Four of the 18 gray whales scientists responded to this year in the Bay Area died from probable vessel strikes, TMMC said. Bay Area gray whale strandings in 2025 as of June 10: June 7 – Lands End, San Francisco – cause of death undetermined May 31 – Montara State Beach, Montara – cause of death undetermined May 29 – McNears Beach County Park, San Rafael – cause of death undetermined May 29 – South San Francisco Bay, San Leandro – cause of death undetermined May 28 – Alamere Falls, Point Reyes National Seashore – probable vessel strike May 26 – Alcatraz, San Francisco – cause of death undetermined May 26 – Point Bonita, Marin Headlands – cause of death undetermined May 24 – Berkeley – cause of death undetermined May 22 – Southeast Farallon Island – cause of death undetermined May 21 – Bolinas – cause of death undetermined May 12 – Rodeo – probable vessel strike May 11 – Point Lobos, San Francisco – cause of death undetermined May 8 – Martinez – cause of death undetermined April 30 – Treasure Island – cause of death undetermined April 17 – Alameda – cause of death undetermined April 4 – Fort Point Rock Beach – probable vessel strike April 2 – Angel Island State Park – probable vessel strike March 30 – Black Sands Beach, San Francisco – cause of death undetermined 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
