A juvenile gray whale that captivated residents in Washington state after swimming 20 miles up a small river has been found dead. Experts believe that the whale’s unusual journey may have been driven by hunger, as the population of gray whales is declining due to food shortages.
The whale was discovered near Raymond, Washington, in the Willapa River, which flows into Willapa Bay. This bay is currently home to several gray whales that are migrating over 5,000 miles from their birthing grounds in Baja California, Mexico, to their feeding grounds in Alaska.
Since 2019, gray whales in the eastern Pacific Ocean have faced significant challenges due to reduced food availability in the northern Bering and Chukchi seas, as stated by John Calambokidis, a research biologist with the Cascadia Research Collective. He explained, “Gray whales are facing a major crisis, and the heart of it does seem to be feeding on their prey in the Arctic.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries agency has declared an unusual mortality event for eastern gray whales, which has lasted from late 2018 to late 2023. During this period, there have been 690 gray whale strandings, stretching from Alaska all the way down to Mexico.
NOAA Fisheries investigators believe that the preliminary cause of these strandings is due to “localized ecosystem changes in the whales’ sub-Arctic and Arctic feeding areas that led to changes in food, malnutrition, decreased birth rates, and increased mortality.”
While officials initially thought the gray whale population was rebounding, the latest count revealed a continuing decline. As of 2025, there were approximately 13,000 gray whales, marking the lowest number since the 1970s. Calambokidis noted, “A lot of these gray whales are looking very emaciated, very thin.”
The northward migration period is typically the hardest for gray whales, as it is the longest time they go without food, forcing them to exhaust their nutritional reserves. “When that happens, you often see gray whales in a more desperate search for new areas to feed,” Calambokidis added. This context likely explains the whale’s unusual journey up the river.
Researchers plan to examine the whale’s remains, possibly as soon as Monday. The whale had entered the north fork of the Willapa River on Wednesday, traveling from a bay about 185 miles southwest of Seattle. Many residents gathered on bridges along the river to catch glimpses of the massive mammal, sharing photos and videos on social media as it expelled air through its blowhole.
Despite appearing thin, the whale was behaving normally and did not show signs of injury, according to the Cascadia Research Collective. They initially allowed the whale time and space to leave the river on its own. However, when researchers attempted to locate the whale on Friday, it had moved further upriver into areas that were difficult to navigate by boat.
