"Gray Whale Deaths On West Coast May Be Linked To Arctic Warmth"

"ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Dozens of gray whales have been found dead along the U.S. West Coast in recent weeks and some scientists believe the cause lies far to the north, in the heated-up Arctic waters off Alaska.

Fifty-eight gray whales have been found stranded and dead so far this year in sites stretching from California to Alaska, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The latest discovery announced on Wednesday by NOAA was a dead gray whale in Turnagain Arm, a narrow glacier-fed channel off Anchorage where gray whales rarely venture.

“They’re moving north from their wintering grounds in Mexico and appear to be running out of steam,” Michael Milstein, a spokesman for NOAA’s Fisheries Service, said on Thursday."

Yereth Rosen reports for Reuters May 16, 2019.

Source: Reuters, 05/17/2019