A number of grey whales<\/a> are currently in the bay as part of their 5,000-mile (8,000-kilometre) spring migration, travelling from birthing grounds in Baja California, Mexico<\/a>, north to feeding areas in Alaska<\/a>.<\/p>\n John Calambokidis, a research biologist with the Cascadia Research Collective, highlighted the broader crisis facing the eastern Pacific grey whale population. <\/p>\n Since 2019, these whales have experienced reduced food availability in the northern Bering and Chukchi seas off Alaska<\/a>\u2019s coast. “Gray whales are facing a major crisis and the heart of it does seem to be feeding on their prey in the Arctic<\/a>,” he told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries agency declared an unusual mortality event for eastern grey whales, spanning from late 2018 to late 2023. <\/p>\n This period saw 690 grey whale strandings recorded across a vast stretch from Alaska to Mexico<\/a>.<\/p>\n NOAA Fisheries investigators concluded the preliminary cause was \u201clocalized ecosystem changes in the whales\u2019 sub-Arctic<\/a> and Arctic feeding areas that led to changes in food, malnutrition, decreased birth rates and increases mortality.\u201d<\/p>\n Officials believed the population was rebounding, but the most recent count from 2025 instead showed a continuing decline. The federal agency estimated about 13,000 gray whales, the lowest count since the 1970s.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of these gray whales are looking very emaciated, very thin,\u201d Calambokidis said.<\/p>\n Their migration north is typically the most challenging period for gray whales, the longest they\u2019ve gone without eating, forcing the animals to use up their nutritional reserves.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen that happens, you often see gray whales in a more desperate search for new areas to feed,\u201d Calambokidis said. “That\u2019s the most likely context for this whale.\u201d <\/p>\n Researchers will attempt to examine whale, possibly as soon as Monday.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Gray_Whale_River_53732.jpg\")
The gray whale swimming in the Willapa River near Willapa Bay, Washington (Cascadia Research Collective via Associated Press)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Gray_Whale_River_39969.jpg\")
The whale was found on Saturday near Raymond, Washington, in the Willapa River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean at Willapa Bay (Cascadia Research Collective via Associated Press)<\/p>\n