“For the killer whales, I honestly don’t know if this is normal or not,” said Mandy Keogh, the Regional Marine Mammal Stranding Coordinator for NOAA Fisheries in Alaska. Dead killer whales simply aren’t seen that often.

Two dead whales have washed up on Unalaska's shores in the past week: an adult fin whale — which is the second largest mammal in the world — and a juvenile humpback.

Between 2015 and 2020, two Unusual Mortality Events have been declared for wales along the western coast of British Colombia and the United States, indicating the possibility of a disturbance to the marine ecosystem.

Partially decomposed whale

Young gray whale found dead on the beach.