A gray whale discovered off the coast of Alameda is believed to have met its end due to the sheer force of a vessel strike, a necropsy report suggests. The California Academy of Sciences and The Marine Mammal Center jointly announced Tuesday that the female whale, measuring 40 feet, showcased injuries consistent with significant blunt force trauma.

In the incident initially reported on April 20, the whale was found in a decomposed state, hindering a definitive cause of death. "Each whale that washes up is an opportunity for scientists to learn more about the species and the population," Moe Flannery, senior collections manager of ornithology and mammalogy at the Academy, told Patch. Despite the conclusion of the Unusual Mortality Event (UME) investigation, research efforts continue.

After being sighted drifting near Alameda's Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach, the whale landed on a nearby sandbar. It was later transported by a towing team to Angel Island for examination. The necropsy, delayed due to adverse weather conditions, finally occurred on April 27, allowing scientists to collect valuable data for future research, including skin, blubber, and stomach contents.

The death of this cetacean aligns with a seasonal uptick in gray whale strandings during their migration northward, typically between March and May. Although the UME has ended, worries persist with the North Pacific gray whale population, estimated by NOAA to have substantially dropped from 20,500 whales in 2019 to just 14,526 in 2023. "We continue to document vessel strike injuries in gray whales in San Francisco Bay regardless of other threats to the animals," Denise Greig, a research scientist at the Academy, said in a statement released by the California Academy of Sciences.

The alarming stranding and subsequent fatalities point to the ongoing threats marine mammals face in the Bay Area. The California Academy of Sciences and The Marine Mammal Center remain vigilant, closely monitoring such incidents. Officials urge anyone who comes across a dead or stranded marine mammal to report it to the West Coast region stranding hotline at 1-866-767-6114 or contact the California Academy of Sciences at (415) 379-5381 for deceased animals and The Marine Mammal Center at (415) 289-SEAL for live ones.