LA Times: Why are Gray Whales and Other Marine Life Visiting San Francisco Bay?
- Species conservation
- Climate change
- Population monitoring
Unprecedented numbers of gray whales are visiting San Francisco Bay, and nobody quite knows why
Published in LA Times: July 14, 2024
When Bill Keener started working at the Marine Mammal Center as a field biologist in the 1970s, there were no whales or dolphins in San Francisco Bay. The waters east of the Golden Gate Bridge were chock- full of life — sea lions and harbor seals galore — but not a cetacean to be seen.
Starting in the late 2000s, things began to change.
There are now four cetacean species living in or regularly visiting the busy waters east of the Golden Gate — harbor porpoises, gray whales, humpback whales and bottle-nosed dolphins.
...researchers aren’t sure if the animals’ presence is a sign of ecosystem health and rejuvenation or a portent of planetary disaster.
Yet Keener and other marine researchers aren’t sure if the animals’ presence is a sign of ecosystem health and rejuvenation or a portent of planetary disaster. And in each case, the story is a little different.
Please note this article is behind a paywall.
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climate change
population monitoring
Kathi George
Bill Keener
Common Bottlenose Dolphin
Humpback Whale
Gray Whale
Harbor Porpoise