CARMEL, Calif. _ As California gray whales wind their way south along North America's Pacific coast _ from their feeding grounds in the Arctic to their spring destination in the secluded lagoons of Mexico's Baja Peninsula _ researchers from Alaska to Mexico are watching, worried about another year of unexplained die-offs.
So far, at least three whales have died on the southbound journey, according to a spokesman at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And there are unconfirmed reports of strandings in Mexico.
Necropsies suggest two of the confirmed whales were "thin," while a third, a juvenile, seemed to be of average body condition, said NOAA's Michael Milstein.
