This May Not Be Killing the Whales - But It Doesn't Help Either

Five grey whales have died in local waters recently and no one's quite sure what to make of it. There is concern that malnutrition may have played a role. Then there's water-borne garbage. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that the stomach of a dead grey found in West Seattle last week was discovered to contain "20-plastic bags, small towels, surgical gloves, sweat pants, plastic pieces, duct tape and a golf ball."

The Cascadia Research group concluded that the whale had been feeding in "industrial areas." Greys are filter feeders that rummage through sea bed muck in search of shellfish and other creatures.