Three gray whales have turned up dead in Southwest Washington this week, a worrying sign that these massive ocean dwellers are struggling to bounce back after years of drastic death counts and dwindling birth rates, according to experts.
One gray whale amazed and confounded onlookers for days after winding up 20 miles inland in the Willapa River. The whale was found dead in the river Saturday near Raymond, in Pacific County. Researchers suspect hunger may have driven the whale to new hunting grounds.
Two dead gray whales also washed ashore Thursday on Copalis Beach, in Grays Harbor County. The pair of adult whales — one male, one female — were malnourished, biologists reported Sunday. One of the whales also had signs of blunt force trauma that appeared consistent with being hit by a boat. Scientists haven’t yet confirmed what killed the other whale, who was young and first appeared in the North Fork of the Willapa on April 1.
The latest deaths bring the state’s total to six so far in 2026, higher than is typical in an entire year in Washington, said John Calambokidis, senior research biologist and a founder of the Cascadia Research Collective.
“I don’t know how high it will get, but you know, it’s got us really worried,” Calambokidis said. “We’re still early in the year. The peak mortality usually occurs in April, May and June.”
Scientists have for years logged cycles of boom-and-bust among eastern gray whales, who migrate about 10,000 miles along the West Coast to feed in the Arctic and breed in Mexico’s Baja Peninsula each year. Mass die-offs in the late 1990s were followed by a remarkable recovery until late 2018, when hundreds of whales began washing up on beaches in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries agency declared an unusual mortality event for eastern gray whales — meaning those in the eastern Pacific — from late 2018 to late 2023. It involved 690 gray whale strandings during that time.
NOAA Fisheries investigators concluded the preliminary cause was “localized ecosystem changes in the whales’ sub-Arctic and Arctic feeding areas that led to changes in food, malnutrition, decreased birth rates and increased mortality.”
Officials believed the population was rebounding, but the most recent count from 2025 instead showed a continuing decline.
This die-off is “much more prolonged” than earlier ones, Calambokidis said, and “the number of calves documented … last year was the lowest that had been seen in 50 years.”
NOAA Fisheries latest count puts the gray whale population at about 13,000 — the lowest since the 1970s. They’re counting fewer baby whales, too. Only 85 calves were documented last year, the fewest since records began in 1994. The endangered southern resident orcas also continue to face significant threats to their habitat and food supply; just 74 remain, according to a 2025 count by the Center for Whale Research.
Starvation — possibly tied to a warming Arctic and melting sea ice – appears to be part of the crisis.
The pair of whales found Thursday were emaciated, according to the Cascadia Research Collective. It’s uncommon for gray whales to travel together, the research group said, and the deaths “are considered to be most likely the result of general migration patterns, tides and currents.” Gray whales have been passing along Washington’s coastline this spring for their northward migration, the most challenging period for gray whales, where they go the longest without eating and use up their nutritional reserves.
In recent years, gray whales have been spotted swimming or trying to feed in unusual places, including the young whale who died in the Willapa River this week. Gray whales are relatively adaptable, and some have found success, like a group that’s returned for more than 30 years to feed in Northern Puget Sound near Everett, Calambokidis said.
Others haven’t been as lucky.
Although whales occasionally wind up in rivers, it’s not common and can cause health problems if their exposure to freshwater is prolonged. According to The Oregonian newspaper, the young whale entered the river from Willapa Bay near Bruceport and followed it east along Highway 101, passing through South Bend and Raymond.
The odd sight quickly became a viral sensation. Some nicknamed the whale “Willapa Willy.” In videos posted to social media, the whale — its length spanning nearly half the width of the river in places — can be seen occasionally spouting through its blowhole. Its tail, gray and mottled with light patches, flicked close to the brambles along the river’s rocky banks.
Cascadia Research Collective said in a Facebook post on Thursday that the whale, although thin, was behaving normally and did not appear to have any injuries. The nonprofit said it would monitor the whale to determine if intervention was necessary.
On Friday, the research nonprofit, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, and members of the Chinook and Shoalwater Bay tribes searched for the whale with no luck.
The situation turned grim. The young whale was found floating lifeless in the river Saturday — and Cascadia Research Collective asked people to stay away. The nonprofit is working with local partners to evaluate the safety of the location to conduct an examination, it said in a Facebook post Saturday evening.
The Chinook Tribe will hold a private ceremony for the whale, according to the Chinook Observer, and local officials are working with federal officials to acquire permits to harvest it in accordance with ancient tribal traditions.
