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A 41-foot-long gray whale washed ashore in Western Washington over the weekend amid concerns for the species' population. The massive adult whale was found dead on Fox Island beach, about five miles from Gig Harbor, on Saturday, April 1, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) confirmed to KOMO Monday (April 3).
The agency alongside Cascadia Research conducted an external exam and collected samples from the whale on Sunday (April 2), Jennifer Becar, WDFW's communications manager, told reporters.
"The whale has been matched to an emaciated individual that had been seen swimming in several locations in southern Puget Sound for the past few weeks, last confirmed alive in Mayo Cove on March 27," Becar said. She also said there will be a "more thorough exam and necropsy" later this week.
According to KING 5, researchers with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) this particular whale was getting weak from a lack of food.
The whale's death comes after a troubling NOAA report about the gray whale population was released in October last year. The organization said the population has been on the decline over the last two years, prompting closer monitoring of the species.
“Given the continuing decline in numbers since 2016, we need to be closely monitoring the population to help understand what may be driving the trend,” Dr. David Weller, Director of the Marine Mammal and Turtle Division at the science center, said in the report. “We have observed the population changing over time, and we want to stay on top of that.”
Marine scientists suspect climate change is affecting food sources for these creatures, but they're still investigating the population drop.