© 2025

620 Egan Way Kodiak, AK 99615
907-486-3181

Kodiak Public Broadcasting Corporation is designated a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. KPBC is located at 620 Egan Way, Kodiak, Alaska. Our federal tax ID number is 23-7422357.

LINK: FCC Online Public File for KMXT
LINK: FCC Online Public File for KODK
LINK: FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Another gray whale washes up on Kodiak's Surfer's Beach

Birds scavenge the gray whale corpse, June 30, 2025.
Brian Venua
/
KMXT
Birds scavenge the gray whale corpse, June 30, 2025.

Scientists suspect it was killed by an orca, much like another whale that washed up in the same area about a month ago.

Editor's Note: Photos depict the rotting whale's corpse. Viewer discretion is advised.

The young gray whale’s corpse was reported washed up right in front of the parking lot to Surfer’s Beach, near the southern end of Kodiak’s road system.

Matt Van Daele, the Sun’aq Tribe of Kodiak’s natural resources director, said it has clear signs of being hunted by a killer whale.

“You can see the remnants still of their tooth rakes on this left pectoral and it’s been bitten off,” he said. “There’s actually a nice little tooth rake right there, and then just this characteristic, again, cleansing of the skin and the blubber.”

Only one of the whale's jaw bones was picked clean. Much of the damage was on the cetacean's left side, June 30, 2025.
Brian Venua
/
KMXT
Only one of the whale's jaw bones was picked clean. Much of the damage was on the cetacean's left side, June 30, 2025.

He’s not sure how old this whale is, but it’s smaller – and possibly younger – than a subadult gray whale that washed up in late May. That whale’s corpse was found by Van Daele and another biologist just a few minutes walk away, and was also likely killed by a killer whale.

“Even though this is kind of not what we’ve typically seen in orca kills around Kodiak, this is still characteristic for orca kills – just a little bit different behavior than what we’re used to seeing,” he said.

Van Daele inspects the young gray whale's head, June 30, 2025.
Brian Venua
/
KMXT
Van Daele inspects the young gray whale's head, June 30, 2025.

There is a transient group of orcas that wander around the Kodiak Archipelago and the Gulf of Alaska known by the community and biologists as the Kodiak Killers. They’re known to hunt marine mammals, but Van Daele said no sightings have been reported near town — about 25 miles from this beach — in months.

“We think that the last orca sighting in front of town was May 3 – very very beginning of May – and we haven't seen any sightings, even though there are a lot of sea lions still around,” he said.

It’s possible other orcas are hunting the young gray whales, but Van Daele said the Kodiak Killers are the most likely culprits for the recent deaths.

“The killer whales are smart – they’re going to go where the feed is,” he said.

The whale's organs have been rotting on the inside and producing gas. Van Daele says much of the pressure has been relieved, but it's possible it could still burst from decomposition, June 30, 2025.
Brian Venua
/
KMXT
The whale's organs have been rotting on the inside and producing gas. Van Daele says much of the pressure has been relieved, but it's possible it could still burst from decomposition, June 30, 2025.

On a survey earlier this year, he estimated that over 200 gray whales have been swimming near the east side of the archipelago this year. From what he’s seen, they were skinny but their bodies were overall in good condition and didn’t seem to be starving. Van Daele said the orcas likely see them as potential sources for food regardless.

The Tribe’s team is not planning a full necropsy for either of the juvenile gray whales that washed up, but did take some blubber samples. They plan to harvest the baleen, assuming the gray whale’s corpse doesn’t get buried before they have a chance.

The gray whale's tail has slowly been getting buried by sediment and rocks as the tide comes in and out from the beach, June 30, 2025.
Brian Venua
/
KMXT
The gray whale's tail has slowly been getting buried by sediment and rocks as the tide comes in and out from the beach, June 30, 2025.

He said it's possible more whales could wash up in the area in the coming months.

“Surfer’s Beach has always been a collector beach,” the natural resources director said. “That’s why it’s such a beautiful, fantastic beach, but it’s most likely that the kills happen right out there.”

About 30 whales have been found dead around Alaska so far this year – 12 gray, 13 humpback, and 5 unidentified cetaceans. Eleven have been found around Kodiak – 4 gray, 5 humpback, and 2 unknown ones.

The whale corpse is easily seen from the parking lot to Surfer's Beach. Scientists said it still has a good layer of blubber, which is often picked at by birds like eagles, June 30, 2025.
Brian Venua
/
KMXT
The whale corpse is easily seen from the parking lot to Surfer's Beach. Scientists said it still has a good layer of blubber, which is often picked at by birds like eagles, June 30, 2025.

Born and raised in Dillingham, Brian Venua graduated from Gonzaga University before ultimately returning to Alaska. He moved to Kodiak and joined KMXT in 2022. Venua has since won awards for the newsroom as both a writer and photojournalist, with work focused on strengthening community, breaking down complex topics, and sharing stories of and for the people of the Kodiak Archipelago.
Related Content
  • The whale washed up in late May, and biologists suspect it was killed by orcas a week before the corpse was found. It's the fourth dead whale reported around the archipelago this year and the seventh found around Alaska.
  • Beaked whales are a rare sight and spend most of their lives deep in the ocean. But one was found dead on a beach near Kodiak last week. KMXT’s Brian Venua joined a small team of researchers to dissect and study the whale.
  • A fin whale washed up in the Pasagshak State Recreation Area, near the end of Kodiak Island’s road system, late last month. It’s unclear how it died, but the whale was in remarkably poor health. Fin whales are the second largest whale species in the world after blue whales and are usually pretty rare around …
  • A humpback whale was found dead near Kodiak Island on Sept. 25. Federal and tribal workers brought the corpse to a nearby island the next day to try to determine the cause of death. It’s the first whale necropsy in Alaska this year and biologists hope it could help explain why local humpback populations seem …