0:44
Earlier this year, scientists in Southern California have reported a record-low gray whale calf count, \"which is a cause for concern,\" according to the Academy.
Only about 85 gray whale calves migrated past Central California on their way to feeding grounds in the Arctic earlier this year, according to NOAA.
\"It shows signs of concern for this population as it moves forward into the future,\" George said. \"What we're trying to learn is we know that climate change is changing ocean conditions and changing prey available availability for these whales in the Arctic.\"
The Bay Area serves as a \"puzzle piece\" to the gray whales' lengthy annual migration, George said.
Dead whales have been reported in the San Francisco Bay Area since March 30, when a female gray whale was found dead at Black Sands Beach, located in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The animal died from a probable vessel strike, according to The Marine Mammal Center.
In May, six gray whales died in the region within a week.
The latest death occurred on July 7 at the Richmond Long Wharf, located about 20 miles north of San Francisco, according to The Marine Mammal Center. A dead female adult gray whale washed up adjacent to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge after suffering from blunt force trauma by a suspected vessel strike, the organization said.
A necropsy revealed hemorrhaging on the animal’s left side, between the head and pectoral fin, likely as a result of the strike, according to the Center.
\"This latest gray whale caught everyone a bit by surprise given how late in the season it is and the fact that we had not sighted the species in the bay in nearly two weeks,\" George said in a statement.
An estimated 80 whales die annually from vessel strikes, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.
Gray whales typically have a \"very low profile\" in the water that can make them difficult to see, unlike other coastal whales, such as humpback whales, according to the Academy.
\"It’s vital that all boaters – from large commercial vessels to sailboats – be 'whale aware' and continue to slow down,\" the California Academy of Sciences said.
Further south, thousands of marine animals have been sickened by an unprecedented toxic algae bloom that has overrun the Southern California coasts.
Species such as seabirds, sea lions and dolphins have been impacted by elevated levels of the neurotoxic domoic acid produced by the algae blooms in the region. However, the harmful algae blooms aren't related to the recent whale deaths in the Bay Area because gray whales transiting north don't stop in Southern California to feed, George said.
\"That is something we test for, though, when we are doing he necropsies – to see what they may have been exposed to recently,\" she said.
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