Natural History Wanderings

SF Gate reported

The first gray whale of the year has arrived “unseasonably early” in San Francisco Bay, experts from the Marine Mammal Center told SFGATE this week, raising questions over the species’ behavior and how it is using the bay to survive. The news follows a troubling year for the species that saw 21 individuals wash up dead in the Bay Area alone — the most in 25 years — and the lowest population estimates since the early 1970s.

Read more Whales are arriving early in San Francisco Bay. Scientists don’t know why.