The juvenile gray whale that drew onlookers in Washington state after it swam far up the Willapa River has been found dead near Raymond, according to a report from the Cascadia Research Collective and statements from a gray whale researcher. The animal was discovered Saturday after entering the river earlier in the week, and researchers said they planned to examine the whale in coming days.
The whale entered the north fork of the Willapa River on Wednesday, traveling via a bay about 185 miles (298 kilometers) southwest of Seattle. It was seen by residents who gathered on bridges along the river, and it also spread widely on social media after people posted photos and video of the whale expelling air through its blowhole. The Associated Press reported that the whale’s upstream journey reached roughly 20 miles.
The Cascadia Research Collective said in a Facebook post that the gray whale appeared thin during the time it was being monitored but was behaving normally and did not appear to have injuries. The nonprofit said it had given the whale time and space to leave the river on its own, but when researchers tried to find it again Friday, the animal had moved farther upriver into waters that were not navigable by boat.
John Calambokidis, a research biologist with the Cascadia Research Collective, said researchers suspected hunger may have contributed to why the whale went where it did. He said eastern gray whales have been facing reduced food availability in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters for years and that the migration north—when they go the longest without eating—can force animals to use their nutritional reserves. “When that happens, you often see gray whales in a more desperate search for new areas to feed,” Calambokidis said.
He added that this whale may have been acting within that broader context. “That’s the most likely context for this whale,” Calambokidis said. He also described the species as facing what he called a major crisis centered on feeding in the Arctic. “Gray whales are facing a major crisis and the heart of it does seem to be feeding on their prey in the Arctic,” he said.
Calambokidis pointed to the eastern gray whale population’s challenges since 2019, which he tied to food availability issues in the northern Bering and Chukchi seas off Alaska’s coast. He said NOAA’s unusual mortality event data reflected that larger decline and that the most recent population assessment still showed fewer animals rather than a rebound.
The federal agency NOAA Fisheries declared an unusual mortality event for eastern gray whales—those in the eastern Pacific—covering late 2018 through late 2023. NOAA reported that the event involved 690 gray whale strandings across the period, from Alaska to Mexico. NOAA Fisheries investigators concluded the preliminary cause was “localized ecosystem changes in the whales’ sub-Arctic and Arctic feeding areas that led to changes in food, malnutrition, decreased birth rates and increased mortality.”
Officials had believed the population was rebounding, but a later count in 2025 showed a continuing decline. NOAA estimated there were about 13,000 gray whales, described as the lowest count since the 1970s. Researchers said the current migration north is typically the most challenging period for gray whales, which can push animals to search for new feeding areas when prey is scarce.
Researchers planned to attempt to examine the whale, possibly as soon as Monday, after it was discovered dead near Raymond. The death followed days of closely watched behavior in the river, where the whale remained visible to residents and drew attention across social media even as scientists worked to track its movement.