Another Dead Whale Found In San Francisco Bay

ALAMEDA, CA — A dead gray whale was discovered rolling in the surf near Alameda’s South Shore Beach, the Bay Area News Group reports, marking the fourth gray whale to wash ashore in San Francisco Bay this year, according to both the Marine Mammal Center and the California Academy of Sciences.

The whale, believed to be an adult female, was first spotted by the U.S. Coast Guard near Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach and later drifted to its current location.

It may be the same whale that was seen floating near the USS Hornet Museum last Thursday, though that has not yet been confirmed. On Friday, the Marine Mammal Center collected skin and blubber samples from the whale. The growing number of stranded whales in the Bay Area — four in less than two weeks earlier this month — is raising concern among scientists, who describe the frequency as unusual.

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To investigate the cause of death, the whale will be towed to Angel Island State Park by a private towing service, where researchers plan to conduct a necropsy later this week. Officials are urging the public to keep their distance from the whale while it remains in the surf, citing safety concerns.

Read more at the Mercury News