Gray whales spotted off Washington’s coast already — but that’s not typical. Here’s why
Gray whales are migrating to Washington waters to feed earlier than usual, and whale watchers in the state are calling it “unprecedented.”
Typically the gray whales called the Sounders detour from their northern migration from Baja, California, to the Bering Sea near Alaska to feed in the north Puget Sound in March.
The mammals feed on ghost shrimp around Whidbey, Camano and Hat Islands before continuing their migration north.
But one whale named Little Patch was spotted in Washington waters on Dec. 7, 2021. The Orca Network said he skipped the rest of his southern migration to feed in northern waters, though he is typically the earliest whale to appear.
A whale named Earhart showed up two months earlier than expected, the whale organization said.
Seven Sounder whales had showed up to feed by the end of February, John Calambokidis a research biologist for Cascadia Research Collective, told McClatchy News.
The Orca Network confirmed the arrival of 13 whales as of March 10. Ten of those whales are tracked Sounders, two are new, and there’s one unknown whale.
“Sounders typically arrive in March with many not until late March, though this arrival was a little earlier last year as well but not as much as this year,” Calambokidis said.
More gray whales are stopping in Washington waters to feed earlier because of recent food stress and whale deaths in 2019 that caused the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to issue an Unusual Mortality Event, Calambokidis said.
The federal agency issued an Unusual Mortality Event on coastlines from Mexico to Alaska because of a higher number of reported whale strandings.
In 2019, there were 216 reported whale strandings across the west coastlines in the United States, Mexico and Canada, NOAA reported. Fifteen whale strandings were reported so far in 2022.
The whale organization asks the public to help report whale sightings immediately by calling 866-672-2638 or email info@orcanetwork.org and include alisa@orcanetwork.org in the message.
A photo of the spotted whale helps identify it.
This story was originally published March 11, 2022 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Gray whales spotted off Washington’s coast already — but that’s not typical. Here’s why."
