Dead gray whales in Washington raise renewed nutrition concerns
Bottom line
Two adult gray whales were found dead near Ocean Shores, Washington, days after a juvenile gray whale that had traveled roughly 20 miles up the Willapa River was also found dead. Reporting from OPB, AP, and local outlets said the Ocean Shores whales were extremely emaciated, and Cascadia Research Collective linked the cases to a broader pattern of poor body condition in migrating gray whales this spring. The deaths come against the backdrop of the eastern North Pacific gray whale population decline that followed the 2019–2023 unusual mortality event, which NOAA said was associated in part with malnutrition and reduced prey availability in Arctic feeding grounds. (opb.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary and wildlife health professionals, these strandings are another signal that nutritional stress remains a leading clinical and population-level concern in gray whales, even after NOAA formally closed the 2019–2023 unusual mortality event. Necropsy findings from that event identified malnutrition as a common cause of death and did not point to infection as a primary driver, which makes body condition scoring, pathology workups, and coordinated stranding response especially important as more whales appear outside typical foraging areas or arrive ashore in poor condition. This year's strandings along the West Coast, including cases in Washington and Oregon, suggest clinicians and responders may be seeing the early signs of renewed ecosystem-driven stress. (fisheries.noaa.gov)
What to watch: Watch for necropsy updates from Cascadia Research Collective and partner agencies, and for any NOAA signal that 2026 strandings are rising toward a new mortality event threshold. (opb.org)
Two adult gray whales found dead near Ocean Shores, Washington, appear to be part of a wider pattern of nutritional stress affecting gray whales along the West Coast. Their discovery came just after a juvenile gray whale drew public attention by swimming far up Washington's Willapa River before later being found dead. Multiple reports said the Ocean Shores whales were severely emaciated, reinforcing concern that at least some gray whales are again struggling to find enough food during migration. (opb.org)
The backdrop is a species that has only recently emerged from a major mortality crisis. NOAA closed the eastern North Pacific gray whale unusual mortality event in late 2023 after documenting elevated strandings from December 2018 through November 2023. During that period, the population fell sharply, and NOAA said necropsies supported malnutrition as a common cause of death, consistent with ecosystem changes in Arctic feeding grounds. (fisheries.noaa.gov)
This spring's Washington cases fit that history. According to OPB and AP reporting, the Willapa River whale was a juvenile, and researchers suspected hunger may have pushed it into atypical habitat in search of prey. John Calambokidis of Cascadia Research Collective told reporters that gray whales are facing a broader feeding crisis tied to reduced food availability in the northern Bering and Chukchi seas. In the Ocean Shores cases, responders described the two adult whales as extremely emaciated, pointing again to poor nutritional status rather than an isolated traumatic event. (opb.org)
There are signs this is not limited to a few Washington strandings. OPB reported on April 20, 2026, that at least 19 whales had appeared ashore along the West Coast this year, while Axios reported nearly two dozen strandings by April 22, with several necropsied animals appearing emaciated. NOAA spokesperson Michael Milstein told OPB that the condition of the whales suggested they did not get enough food during the prior summer feeding season. Taken together, those reports suggest the Ocean Shores deaths may be part of a broader regional signal, though NOAA had not, as of those reports, announced a new unusual mortality event. (opb.org)
Expert reaction has centered less on a single proximate cause and more on cumulative ecological stress. Calambokidis told AP that the core problem "does seem to be" access to prey in Arctic feeding areas, and NOAA's summary of the last mortality event similarly emphasized malnutrition over infectious disease. That's important for veterinary audiences because it frames these strandings as sentinel events at the intersection of pathology, marine ecosystem change, and wildlife surveillance, rather than as isolated beaching incidents. (apnews.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals involved in marine mammal medicine, pathology, and wildlife health response, these cases underscore the value of standardized necropsy, body condition assessment, sample archiving, and interagency reporting. When emaciation is the dominant finding, casework can help distinguish primary nutritional stress from secondary contributors such as entanglement, vessel strike, or underlying disease. It also gives regulators and population biologists better evidence on whether 2026 is shaping into another elevated-mortality year for eastern North Pacific gray whales. (fisheries.noaa.gov)
The cases also matter for clinicians who communicate with coastal communities and pet parents interested in wildlife health. Strandings often become public-facing events quickly, but the clinical takeaway is more measured: unusual behavior, poor body condition, and repeated regional strandings can provide early warning of broader ecosystem disruption. For marine mammal responders, that means continued vigilance through the northbound migration and close attention to whether more whales turn up in atypical habitats or with severe fat loss. (opb.org)
What to watch: The next key developments are necropsy and laboratory findings from the Washington whales, updated West Coast stranding counts through spring migration, and whether NOAA or partner agencies conclude that 2026 mortality patterns warrant a new formal investigation. (opb.org)