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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 fluke
group of elephant seals on a sandy beach
In the News

New York Times: How California's Elephant Seals Made a Remarkable Recovery

March 16, 2023
  • Natural history

Hunted nearly to extinction, northern elephant seals, native to the waters off the West Coast, now number more than 175,000.

Published in The New York Times: March 16, 2023

Before summiting the slippery beachside dunes, wind-whipped sand spraying my face, I could hear what was on the other side.

Raspy grunts, high-pitched mews, guttural barks and the occasional roar bellowed toward my group of hikers at Año Nuevo State Park, a remote strip of coastal bluffs about 60 miles south of San Francisco. Once we crossed over to the wide sandy beach, the source of the commotion became obvious: hundreds of elephant seals, their slick blubbery bodies splaying out on the land or flopping into the chilly waters of the Pacific.

Read the story



header image: photo © Luiza Naslausky

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natural history
Adam Ratner
Northern Elephant Seal