Another dead gray whale washes up on a Bay Area beach

(KRON) — A dead gray whale washed ashore recently at a beach in Marin County, KRON4 has learned. The dead whale was first reported floating in the water off Point Bonita Lighthouse on Friday morning, according to a representative from California Academy of Sciences. Eventually, the whale washed ashore at Agate Beach in Bolinas.

The incident marked the third time this year that a dead whale has washed up in the San Francisco Bay Area, during what Cal Academy officials are calling an “Unusual Mortality Event” for the species. Cal Academy is working with the Marine Mammal Center to mount a response to the dead whale, depending on tidal patterns and accessibility, the Cal Academy rep told KRON4.

Since 2019, there has been an uptick in gray whale strandings along the West Coast from Mexico up to Alaska, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That year, there were 34 gray whale strandings along the California coast. Last year, there were 10 such reported strandings. This year, five have been reported statewide, including the three in the SF Bay Area.

Scientists don’t have a definitive answer as to why the whales are washing up dead, but the NOAA said that several of the whales “have shown evidence of emaciation.”