Juvenile Gray Whale Found Dead After Swimming 20 Miles Up Willapa River
Key Takeaways
- Juvenile gray whale swam about 20 miles inland into the Willapa River.
- The whale was found dead.
- Researchers suspect hunger drove inland movement to new hunting grounds.
Whale Found Dead After Inland Swim
A juvenile gray whale swam 20 miles up the Willapa River and was found dead near Raymond.
“Gray whale that swam 20 miles up Washington state river found dead Marine mammal research group suspects hunger may have driven the whale”
The whale was thin but showed no obvious signs of injury at initial sightings.
Researchers suspect hunger may have driven the whale to new hunting grounds amid a population decline.
Population Decline and Unusual Mortality Event
The gray whale population has been struggling with reduced food availability in Arctic feeding areas.
NOAA Fisheries declared a five-year unusual mortality event involving 690 strandings.
The 2025 population count showed a continuing decline to about 13,000 whales.
Two adult gray whales washed ashore dead on Copalis Beach this week.
Community Response and Future Steps
Monitoring and intervention plans were coordinated among Cascadia, NOAA, and WDFW.
The juvenile was the sixth gray whale death documented in Washington so far in 2026.
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