A humpback whale found dead near Kodiak Island in Alaska undergoes the state's first whale necropsy of 2023 in an effort to determine the cause of death and understand the shrinking humpback population in the area, with initial findings suggesting the whale may have been struck by a boat.

Biologist Jessica Crance witnessed both sightings personally, and is among a handful of living people who have seen one of this population of right whales up close since the species was devastated by commercial whaling.

NOAA has declared an “unusual mortality event” for gray whales on the North American west coast and launched an investigation.

Three dead gray whales washed up on two different Kodiak Island beaches recently. The strandings happened within the span of a week.