Science
Gray whales are experiencing another mass mortality event along the North American Pacific coastline, with at least 70 whales perishing since the beginning of the year in Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Scientists are recording alarming statistics – including the lowest number of mother-calf pairs ever observed in key breeding lagoons – raising concerns about a potential repeat of the 2019 die-off, which claimed hundreds of whales. The declining population was first noticed in Mexico’s shallow, protected lagoons where the mammals traditionally congregate to calve, nurse, and breed. Steven Swartz, a marine scientist who has studied gray whales since 1977, reported
April 15, 2025