This month, five gray whales have washed ashore in the San Francisco Bay area, contributing to a total of 14 strandings for the year. This marks the highest number of deaths since similar mortality events in 2019 and 2021. The California Academy of Sciences and the Marine Mammal Center are investigating potential causes but face challenges, such as inaccessible sites and tissue decomposition. Initial necropsies yielded inconclusive results, raising concerns about the health of marine ecosystems and prompting an urgent call for further research and collaboration.
These whale strandings represent a concerning trend that echoes past mortality events, highlighting potential ecological issues impacting marine life in this region.
It’s a very large picture that we're trying to fill in right now, and the team between the California Academy of Sciences and the Marine Mammal Center are really running hard.
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