gray whale Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Dead Whale Left To Rot On Washington Beach Now On Its Way To Becoming Amazing Yard Art

By Tom Banse September 24, 2020

The skull of a gray whale that washed ashore in Puget Sound in 2019 will soon find its final resting place in a Jefferson County back yard. CREDIT: Mario Rivera

Last year, a couple who lives near Port Townsend, Washington, agreed to let the federal government drop off a dead gray whale to decompose on their semi-isolated beach. Now, the couple has a permit to keep the whale skeleton and will soon assemble the most amazing yard art.Read More

Mind If We Drop Off A Dead Whale On Your Beach? Asking For A friend.

By Tom Banse June 14, 2019

This 40-foot gray whale drifted ashore north of Port Ludlow, Washington, on May 28 before being towed to a more isolated beach at the invitation of the landowners there. CREDIT: MARIO RIVERA

The tally of dead gray whales washing up on Pacific Northwest beaches during this year's northbound migration keeps going up. That's prompting an unusual request for volunteers from a federal agency.Read More

Dead Gray Whale Found On Olympic Coast Is 24th On Pacific Northwest Beaches This Year

By Tom Banse May 24, 2019

Responders examine a malnourished adult gray whale on April 15, 2019 after it was towed to a remote beach after initially being found floating near downtown Seattle. CREDIT: CASCADIA RESEARCH COLLECTIVE

Olympic National Park said a decomposing gray whale washed ashore Friday morning north of Kalaloch Campground. That makes the 24th dead whale stranding in Oregon and Washington this year during the northbound migration.Read More

Why Are So Many Gray Whales Washing Up Dead On Pacific Northwest Beaches?

By Tom Banse April 25, 2019

The peak stranding time for gray whales in the Pacific Northwest is normally April, May and June. But the federal agency NOAA Fisheries has already logged nine dead whales washed ashore in Washington and one in Oregon. That's on top of 21 strandings on California beaches since the beginning of the year.Read More

Gray Whale Sightings Up Off Northwest Coast

By Jes Burns March 22, 2018

Western gray whale off the northeast coast of Sakhalin Island in the Sea of Okhotsk taken during the 2011 tagging season under the joint effort of A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IEE RAS) and Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute in collaboration with the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service and Kronotsky State Nature Biosphere Reserve. CREDIT: OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

Gray whale sightings are up on the Oregon and Washington coast in recent weeks.Read More