Gray Whales, Seals Are Being Found Dead In Alaska

 

Alaska and the West Coast have been suffering through several cases of dead sea life, including gray whales and ice seals, including several cases in Alaskan waters. Here’s CNN with more:

That makes seven in Alaska and at least 75 total, in what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calls an “unusual mortality event,” the station reports. …

Last month, ocean scientists said they were worried about the death rate, the highest in almost two decades. Some of the mammals were underweight, which may mean they could not find enough food in the water, a possible result of climate change, NOAA spokesman Michael Milstein said.
In all of last year, 45 gray whales were found onshore, NOAA said.

 

Here’s more CNN on the seals’ fatalities:

NOAA said it received multiple reports of dead ice seals in southwest Norton Sound on Monday, including from a hunter who counted 18 seal carcasses along 11 miles of shore and dozens more on the coast of Stuart Island, Alaska.

NOAA Fisheries is working with its partners in the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network to photograph and perform necropsies on the animals, NOAA said in a news release.
Some of the dead seals were reported to have lost hair, NOAA said. The agency also has received reports that the seals are unusually thin this year, it said.