Gray whales dying

Gray whales are often seen migrating along the Washington coast. But there’s just one place in the world where people can go to try and touch them.

According to NOAA, an ‘unusual mortality event' that was killing off gray whales on the west coast has ended. But climate change is adding uncertainty to their conclusions.

The "Sounders" returned to the Puget Sound region during their annual migration. However, the whales' early arrival could signal widespread hunger and starvation.

Another key deadline has nearly passed in the Makah Tribe’s request to resume its hunt for gray whales, by getting a waiver under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Here are the latest developments.

A final decision on the Makah whale hunt was expected from the head of NOAA Fisheries by the end of June. An administrative law judge recommended approval two years ago, but the agency has still not released its final environmental impact statement.

Officials are responding to a dead gray whale found beached on the west side of Camano Island. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Fisheries West Coast Region posted about the massive stranded mammal, saying a necropsy would be performed.

A special group of gray whales, known locally as "the Sounders," takes an annual detour from their coastal migration to feed on ghost shrimp in the tidelands of Puget Sound. Normally they start showing up in March but for the past two years they have been arriving early and growing in number.

Every spring, gray whales migrate up the West Coast on a 12,000-mile round-trip from Mexico to the Alaskan Arctic. A small group has begun detouring to Puget Sound every year in what seems to be a survival strategy.

Another gray whale has died off the Washington coast. The animal was confirmed dead after stranding in the tidal areas of north Port Susan, east of Camano…

Inside Seattle Pacific University’s Eaton Hall, a small group of students huddle around the huge skull of a gray whale, whose bones they’ve all been…