Dead whale found at Ocean Beach; 9th in region this year
SAN FRANCISCO » Dead gray whale sightings in Bay Area waters this year are becoming almost more commonplace than the live ones.
For the ninth time in two months, the carcass of a dead whale washed ashore. This one happened Monday at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, according to the Marine Mammal Center. Scientists at the center will do a necropsy to determine why it died.
“The death of nine gray whales … is a cause for serious concern and reinforces the need to continue to perform and share the results of these type of investigations with key decision-makers,” Dr. Padraig Duignan, the center’s chief research pathologist, said in a statement. “We are committed to partnering with organizations and individuals to find long-term environmental solutions to prevent these deaths in the future.”
Monday’s gray whale death comes nearly three weeks after a whale washed up at East Bay Regional Park District’s Brooks Island Preserve in Richmond.
Two dead whales also washed up on Angel Island in Tiburon in mid-March, and another whale turned up dead in San Pablo Bay in early April.
Scientists also have investigated the deaths of whales found in San Mateo, Pacifica and Point Reyes National Seashore.
Biologists say they’ve observed gray whales with poor body conditions this year as they swim their annual migration from Alaska to Baja California, possibly because of abnormal ocean conditions over the past few years that have contributed to changing food sources. There also have been more more whales than usual.
Scientists have performed necropsies — animal autopsies — on eight gray whales this year. Three died after being hit by ships, and four were malnourished. The cause of death for the eighth one hasn’t been determined.
The necropsy will determine the latest dead whale’s age, length and gender.