A young gray whale that swam 20 miles (32.2 km) inland up the Willapa River in Washington state has been found dead, according to the local scientific research group Cascadia Research Collective. The group pointed to hunger as a possible cause, linking it to reduced food availability in Arctic feeding grounds that has plagued the species in recent years.
In an update on Facebook on Saturday, the group stated: "We are saddened to confirm that the whale seen in the Willapa River over the past few days is deceased." The collective added that it was evaluating the safety of the location to conduct an examination of the whale's remains.
The juvenile whale, affectionately dubbed "Willapa Willy" by locals, was first spotted last Wednesday in the north fork of the river, about 145 miles southwest of Seattle. Initially, researchers noted the whale was "although thin, was behaving normally" with no visible signs of injury. Teams had hoped the whale would find its way back to the ocean but it failed to do so.
Research biologist John Calambokidis of Cascadia Research Collective explained to the Associated Press that gray whales undertake long spring migrations north along the Pacific Coast to feed in the Arctic, depleting their nutritional reserves along the way. "When that happens, you often see gray whales in a more desperate search for new areas to feed," he added. "That's the most likely context for this whale."
Calambokidis noted that gray whales in the eastern Pacific have faced diminished food availability in the northern Bering and Chukchi seas off Alaska's coast in recent years. "Gray whales are facing a major crisis and the heart of it does seem to be feeding on their prey in the Arctic," he emphasized, highlighting broader ecological challenges.
Earlier in April, two adult gray whales washed up dead in the nearby Ocean Shores area. Cascadia Research Collective reported: "These 42 ft adults, one male and one female, were both malnourished. The male also had significant trauma to the head, consistent with ship strike." This incident underscores multiple threats facing the species.
The most recent count from winter 2025 by NOAA Fisheries reveals a continuing decline in the gray whale population, estimated at about 13,000—the lowest since the 1970s. Gray whales, which can grow to 15 meters long and weigh 40,000 kg, are popular for whale watching along North America's west coast but face dangers from vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear during their solitary migrations.
Source: www.bbc.com