Four Dead Gray Whales in BC: Sign of Larger Problem?

0:00Four dead gray whales have washed up off British Columbia's coast in just the last 10 days and fisheries officials are bracing for more. They've spotted five dead ones so far this year, topping toward the record of 11 from all of 2019. These whales are showing up extremely skinny, some might bags of bones which points to serious malnutrition. Experts say these gray whales fast through winter and Mexican waters for breeding and calving, then head north to feed. But the ones arriving now are in rough shape, likely from a bad feeding season last summer, an Arctic and sub-Arctic grounds. Warm or water attempts of their cut prey like small crustaceans, an earlier ice melt messed with food quality and supply. That stress hit hard last breeding season saw just 84 calves born in Mexico's Baja Lagoon's the lowest ever. Necrop season on these BC. Whales will reveal more on body condition and exact causes, but the pattern matches deaths along Washington, Oregon and California coasts, with 15 recent ones in Washington alone.

1:02As sampling continues, this could signal bigger troubles for the population if prey doesn't rebound. But ongoing work aims to track and may be help. Turn the tide. That's the story for today. Canada News Today, Driven by AI. I'm Corey with the story.