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Scientists raise red flags after observing concerning new whale behavior: 'We're seeing conditions that suggest a continuation'
Pacific gray whales are stranding at an unusually high rate again, and experts are worried that a similar crisis from just a few years ago is occurring once more.
According to KNKX, scientists are alarmed by the rising number of gray whale strandings along the Pacific West Coast.
So far this year, 47 gray whales have been stranded across California, Washington, and Oregon — already well above last year's total of 31, with peak migration not expected until the end of June.
Cascadia Research reports that most of the stranded whales showed signs of malnutrition, including depleted blubber oil, missing fat reserves, and empty digestive tracts.
These findings are similar to conditions that precipitated the Unusual Mortality Event monitored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries from 2018 to 2023.
With the number of sick whales and strandings today, Cascadia whale biologist John Calambokidis said in the KNKX report, "We're seeing conditions that suggest a continuation, rather than a rebound, from that mortality event."
Low blubber oil levels and malnutrition suggest that the gray whales are likely struggling to find food in the Arctic due to warming waters and melting sea ice.
With depleted fat reserves and empty stomachs, the gray whales veer off-course to feed in unexpected places like San Francisco Bay.
According to scientists, unusual behaviors like this are signs of ecosystem imbalance. Similar issues have appeared in other species, too, like mass strandings of sperm whales and atypical behaviors in killer whales.
NOAA Fisheries is monitoring the situation and plans to release updated population estimates.
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