SAN FRANCISCO — Six grey whales have died within the San Francisco Bay in simply the previous week alone, bringing the whole variety of stranded whales to fifteen up to now this yr as authorities rush to determine what could possibly be inflicting the sudden deaths.
The video within the participant above is from a earlier report.
The California Academy of Sciences and their companions on the Marine Mammal Heart confirmed that six grey whales died between Might 21 and Might 28 and that their necropsy response efforts to determine what’s going on has been “challenging.”
Why extra whales are coming to Southern California waters
Drone movies present whales breaching the ocean floor off the Southern California coast.
“Necropsy response efforts and data collection have 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,” officers mentioned. “As of today, May 28, 2025, a necropsy (animal autopsy) was conducted at Kirby Cove in the Marin Headlands. It is suspected that this subadult male is one of the two whales that was sighted on May 26, 2025. The cause of death is still under investigation. The other individual has not made landfall.”
To date in 2025, 15 whales in complete have died — 14 grey whales and one minke whale — within the higher San Francisco Bay space, with the causes of at the least three of the grey whale deaths being suspected to have been brought on by vessel strikes, officers mentioned.
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That is at the least the seventh lifeless whale that has washed up alongside a Bay Space seaside this yr.
“The Academy and partners at the Center have not responded to this many dead gray whales since the height of the Unusual Mortality Event in 2019 (14 individuals) and 2021 (15 individuals),” scientists confirmed.
In 2025, scientists have reported “an unusually excessive variety of sightings within the San Francisco Bay this yr, with 33 particular person grey whales confirmed. In 2024, solely six grey whales had been sighted over your entire yr.
“Roughly one-third of [the whales this year] have stayed in the bay for at least 20 days, and their overall body condition has ranged from normal to emaciated,” scientists mentioned. “The reason or potential reasons behind the massive spike in sightings this year are still being investigated by researchers. 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.”
MORE: Rise in whale sightings in San Francisco Bay sparks concern
For the sixth time this yr, a lifeless whale has washed up alongside a San Francisco Bay seaside. However scientists have an excellent greater concern.
The long-term outlook for grey whales within the aftermath of the 2019 to 2023 uncommon mortality occasion noticed a inhabitants lack of roughly 45% and commentary scientists in southern California reported record-low calf counts earlier this yr — a trigger for concern, in response to scientists.
“With San Francisco Bay serving as a shared space for commerce and increased gray whale activity, experts at the Academy and the Center note it’s vital that all boaters — from large commercial vessels to sailboats — be “whale aware” and proceed to decelerate,” officers warned.
“Gray whales often have a very low profile in the water that can make them difficult to sight, unlike other coastal whales like humpback whales,” scientists continued. “The Center is working with the San Francisco Harbor Safety Committee to find solutions to reduce the risk of vessel strike (including altering ferry lanes based on sighting data this year) and increase mariner communication announcements of heightened whale activity via the U.S. Coast Guard.”
