NOAA is investigating what it’s calling “unusually large numbers” of seal deaths.

Grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) found beached near the Placer River along Turnagain Arm is one of five grey whales reported dead along the Alaska coast during 2019.

Near Nome, reports of seal pups and walrus calves hauled out on beaches are piling up at an unprecedented rate.

At least 60 ice seals have been found dead across northern and western Alaska this month. As of early this week, reports of dead seals had come in from the Norton Sound region, the Northwest Arctic and the North Slope.

Since January 1, 2019, elevated gray whale strandings have occurred along the west coast of North America from Mexico through Alaska. This event has been declared an Unusual Mortality Event (UME).