The gray whale population along the West Coast showed another year of declines, according to the latest estimates, but scientists say there are some positive signs for the formerly endangered whales.
The population of the eastern north Pacific Gray whale has been sliding downward since reaching a peak in 2016 with an estimated 26,960 whales. This year, scientists put the estimate at 14,526 whales. The estimate is based on counts of migrating whales off the Central California coast and statistical analyses.
In 2019, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared a population die-off as an "unusual mortality event." While the cause isn't clear, researchers theorized the decline is partially related to changes to food sources in the Arctic, where the whales spend the summer.
