Gray whale ‘Willapa Willy’ swims up Willapa River; two other whales found dead on Ocean Shores beach
Published 1:30 am Friday, April 3, 2026
A juvenile gray whale dubbed Willapa Willy strayed up the Willapa River in north Pacific County — on of all days April Fool’s Day — and two other whales were spotted Friday morning dead on the beach south of the Taurus entrance in Ocean Shores.
Witness reports, unconfirmed, say Willapa Willy after making it up the several miles up the river, has found its way back to the Willapa Bay during Friday morning’s early high tide.
Biologists monitoring the whale reported it was thin but acting normal. Gray whales mainly eat amphipods, but they are known to feed on small clams in shallow, muddy bays, such as Willapa Bay.
An estimated 20,000 gray whales make the trip past the Washington coast each spring.
Earlier Thursday it was believed the whale had made it back down the river to the bay; there were no sightings by residents or professionals as of 12:30 p.m. But around 3 p.m. Thursday it was seen again in the river.
Staff with the Cascade Research Collective, recognized authorities on North Pacific whales, are closely monitoring the situation. They strongly urge people to resist the temptation to get close to the juvenile, as the stress of human contact and noise could lead to its death.
“Interacting with wild marine mammals should not be attempted, and viewing marine mammals must be conducted in a manner that does not harass (i.e., disturb or injure) the animals,” according to NOAA Fisheries.
