Gray Whales Dying

Wed., April 21, 1999

Seven gray whales have turned up dead in Washington’s waters so far this year, and marine mammal experts in Seattle are trying to determine if there is reason to be worried.

“I have to admit they’re coming at rapid clip, the past few. It’s got me concerned,” said John Calambokidis with Cascadia Research, a non-profit organization in Olympia.

There are an unusually large number of gray whales in Puget Sound - 25 or more, Calambokidis said. He speculates the whales are hungry after their winter in Mexican waters and are detouring to Puget Sound, looking for something to eat before they continue north to Alaska.

Some biologists speculate the population may not be healthy because of a food shortage in the Bering Sea, where the whales spend their summers. Others believe whales may have migrated farther south last winter because the Pacific Ocean was colder than normal near Mexico.

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Gray Whales Dying

Jesse Tinsley

Jim Meehan

Molly Quinn

Rob Curley

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