‘Unusual Mortality Event’ Declared as Grey Whales Appear on West Coast Beaches

In this May 24, 2019 photo, teachers and students from Northwest Montessori School in Seattle examine the carcass of a gray whale after it washed up on the coast of Washington's Olympic Peninsula. Gene Johnson/AP Photo/The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — The American federal agency dedicated to ocean science has declared an “unusual mortality event” as the bodies of dozens of grey whales wash up on West Coast beaches in Canada and the U.S.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, known as NOAA, says that 70 whales have been found on U.S. territory from California to Alaska and five more have washed up on British Columbia’s coast.