Podcast: The mystery of the disappearing gray whales

LA Times
·1 min read
LAGUNA SAN IGNACIO, BAJA CALIFORNIA - FEB 16, 2021: A dead gray whale washes ashore in Laguna San Ignacio on March 11, 2020. 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). Balvi Vasquez, a local resident of San Ignacio who works for Antonio's Ecotours says a prayer for the whale. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
A dead gray whale that washed ashore in Mexico's Laguna San Ignacio. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Graceful, playful and tough, the gray whale is a beloved icon of the Pacific coast. The whales' annual migration from the waters off Alaska to Baja California is one of the longest undertaken by any mammal, a journey that has happened for thousands of years.

But in the last couple of years, fewer gray whales have made the trip. These magnificent giants are dying in numbers unseen in decades. Nobody knows exactly why, but there are some clues.

Today, we speak with Los Angeles Times investigative reporter Susanne Rust about what's happening.

Host: Gustavo Arellano

Guest: L.A. Times investigative reporter Susanne Rust

More reading:

Something is killing gray whales. Is it a sign of oceans in peril?

Gray whales: What to know about our West Coast leviathans and their uncertain future

As cargo shipments boom, ship strikes imperil whales in California and worldwide

How we delved into the odyssey of whale deaths even as a pandemic raged

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.