A gray whale carcass on the shore of Limantour Beach at Point Reyes National Seashore in California, USA.
The marine mammal is the thirteenth dead whale that washed ashore in the San Francisco Bay Area since 10 March. Scientists feat that the incidents are sign of trouble with the species, and suspect starvation to be the cause of the beachings.
A few of the whales that have washed up dead have been visibly emaciated. Others were killed by ship strikes, which could be an indirect result of them staying in the highly trafficked San Francisco Bay for longer periods than they normally would.
Photos: EPA-EFE/JOHN G. MABANGLO
