Gray whales are experiencing a potentially catastrophic population decline, a sharp reversal from what had been considered a conservation success. As of July 6, 2026, there were 145 gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) stranding deaths in the Pacific, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data. The environmental non-profit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) estimates that for […]
Tag: gray whales
Melting Arctic Ice Leaves Gray Whales Starving Along the West Coast
Gray whales along the West Coast are dying at alarming rates, and melting Arctic sea ice is largely to blame. According to The Seattle Times environment reporter Lynda V. Mapes, gray whale populations have dropped by over 40% in the last decade—marking the steepest and most sustained decline in over 50 years of monitoring. Once […]
With Sea Ice Melting, Killer Whales Are Moving Into the Arctic
In the winter of 2020, Inuit hunters in Canada’s Central Arctic came across the frozen carcasses of 11 beached bowhead whales, enormous marine mammals that have made a slow but steady comeback since they were driven to the brink of extinction by late 19th and early 20th century whalers. Unsure of what killed the whales, […]