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Whales in San Francisco Bay

Roughly 30 gray whales have been spotted in the Bay this season, many more than is typical. Sadly, there have also been at least 14 deaths this year, which is more than in all of 2024. 

We are investigating to help determine the cause of these deaths. By gaining insights into what is causing these tragedies, we can better understand how to help prevent them.

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gray whale necropsy on a beach with San Francisco in the distance
In the News

KQED: More Whales Are Washing Up Dead on Bay Area Beaches. Why?

November 18, 2021
  • Species conservation
  • Pathology
  • Entanglement

Bay Curious: More Whales Are Washing Up Dead on Bay Area Beaches. Why?

Published by KQED: November 18. 2021

Spring and fall can be magical times along California’s coast. Gazing out to sea, you might glimpse a spout of seawater or a glistening fin slice through the waves — whales! It’s thrilling to spot these massive mammals as they migrate from Alaska to Mexico in the fall and back north in the spring. But gray whales, in particular, have been washing up dead on Bay Area beaches at alarming rates over the past several years. 

Five-year-old Caleb Whan is very interested in whales. He asked Bay Curious a bevy of questions about what they eat and where they live, which is how he ended up trudging across a windy Sausalito beach with a veterinary pathologist, his dad and me. We soon reach the large, smelly marine mammal carcass.

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species conservation
pathology
entanglement
Pádraig Duignan
Gray Whale