Overview

• Fourteen gray whale carcasses have been recorded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2025, including five found in the past week—the highest tally since the 2019–2023 unusual mortality event
• Photo-identification efforts have logged 33 individual gray whales in the bay this spring, compared with just four during the same period in 2024
• Three of the dead whales showed signs of suspected vessel strikes, while most other cases remain undetermined due to advanced decomposition and remote stranding sites
• Researchers in Southern California reported record-low gray whale calf counts earlier this year, raising further concerns about the population’s recovery
• Experts expect the remaining whales to depart for Arctic feeding grounds within two weeks as investigations continue into the unprecedented influx and mortality surge