Gray whales are dying in San Francisco Bay at an alarming rate – this isn’t normal
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Gray whales are dying at an alarming rate in San Francisco Bay, with ship strikes a major cause.
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At least six gray whales died in San Francisco Bay from mid-March to early April 2026, raising concerns among marine biologists. This follows a pattern of high mortality in recent years for eastern North Pacific gray whales, a struggling population. Historically, whales stopped in the bay when Arctic food supplies were low, but now large numbers are documented with an alarmingly high mortality rate. From 2018 to 2025, 114 individual gray whales visited the bay, with at least 18% of documented live whales later dying there. Of 70 dead whales studied, 30 showed trauma consistent with ship strikes, indicating San Francisco Bay's busy urban waterways are dangerous for these slow-moving animals.
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