Kachemak Bay has witnessed massive die-offs of sea stars, murres and razor clams. Whats going on?

Dolphin beaching in Sodwana Bay, South Africa

Dead humpback whale

Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) with Saprolegnia

I was flying on Monday and found a giant beached dead humpback whale up on the mudflats near Birchwood. I see belugas all the time but never a humpback.

Dead sea otter and star fish

Tuesday’s (September 29) sighting of a gray whale swimming and possibly feeding right off the Stanley Park Seawall brings recent sightings up to three in that area. It isn’t clear if it is the same whale or different whales in the widely reported incidents since August 12. One whale, perhaps the same animal each time, was observed for days in the same area in English Bay, sometimes travelling into Burrard Inlet and off West Vancouver’s Ambleside Beach.

A dead juvenile female humpback whale near Dolgoi Island

11-29-14 Sick harbor seal - Chefornak, Alaska, USA

Dead orca observed in the Bering Strait region.

11-18-15 Bearded seal with hair loss - Shishmaref, Alaska, USA

10-19-13 Hairless seal - Shishmaref, Alaska, USA

Rare polar bear sighting in Sisualik summer camp, about 10-11 miles north of Kotzebue, AK.