A Starving Gray Whale Swam 20 Miles Into Washington River — Then Died
a juvenile gray whale entered the north fork of Willapa River, swimming nearly 20 miles upstream — 185 miles southwest of Seattle. Residents crowded bridges, flooding social media with videos of the massive mammal.
The whale appeared visibly thin but showed no injuries and behaved normally. Cascadia Research Collective gave it time and space, hoping it would exit the river on its own — without human intervention.
By Friday, researchers returned to locate the whale — but it had traveled even further upriver, into waters too shallow for boats. The animal was now completely unreachable, beyond any possibility of rescue or redirection.
On Saturday, the whale was found dead near Raymond, Washington, in the Willapa River. It had been migrating 5,000 miles from Baja California to Alaska — a journey this emaciated juvenile would never complete.
Since 2019, eastern Pacific gray whales have faced severe food shortages in Arctic feeding grounds. NOAA recorded 690 strandings from 2018–2023. By 2025, the population had fallen to just 13,000 — the lowest since the 1970s.
Research biologist John Calambokidis believes starvation drove the whale upriver in a desperate search for food. Spring migration leaves gray whales dangerously depleted. Researchers planned to examine the carcass as early as Monday.
