A dead gray whale was found floating just below the Golden Gate Bridge on Tuesday morning, triggering a rapid response from federal crews and marine scientists in one of the busiest waterways on the West Coast.
The Marine Mammal Center said the whale was reported around 9 a.m. by the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Researchers were on the water within hours, collecting skin and tissue samples as the carcass drifted in the bay, according to the agency.
By Tuesday afternoon, the whale had been towed to Sand Springs Beach on Angel Island State Park, where scientists from the Marine Mammal Center and the California Academy of Sciences are preparing a necropsy, or animal autopsy.
Officials said the whale’s age, sex and cause of death are not yet known.
It is the first confirmed whale death in the Bay Area this year, according to the Marine Mammal Center.
The discovery comes as gray whale sightings in San Francisco Bay have picked up in recent weeks. At least six whales were observed in the bay as of Monday, with sightings beginning Jan. 21 and increasing last weekend, the center said.
Gray whales typically pass the Bay Area each spring en route to Arctic feeding grounds, but far more are lingering inside the Bay this year, according to the Marine Mammal Center. By this time last year, there were 33 sightings compared with four over the same period in 2024 — raising concerns about ship strikes and whether the animals are struggling to find food.
In 2025, 26 dead whales were found across the Bay Area, including 21 gray whales, according to the Marine Mammal Center and the California Academy of Sciences. Nine of those deaths were classified as suspected or probable vessel strikes.
Multiple gray whales were found dead in quick succession in Bay Area waters last year, including animals discovered near Angel Island and along San Francisco’s shoreline. Some carcasses were too decomposed or inaccessible to fully examine.
“There continues to be a significant number of gray whale sightings in San Francisco Bay as this species continues their northern migration to their arctic feeding grounds,” Kathi George, director of cetacean conservation biology at the Marine Mammal Center, said in the statement. “Gray whales are difficult to see due to their low profile and coloration patterns that naturally blend into the bay. It’s important for all boaters to be extra vigilant and whale aware.”
A necropsy could begin as soon as Wednesday, officials said.