Officials said Wednesday that six dead gray whales were found in the San Francisco Bay area last week.

The California Academy of Sciences said a gray whale was found dead from May 21 to Wednesday when a person was found washed ashore at Point Reyes National Seashore, the California Academy of Sciences said.

On Monday, two people were found on the same day - one on Alcatraz and the other on Point Bonita.

In most cases, no autopsy was performed like an animal. The college said some autopsy of the one-year-old gray whale found in Brinas is inconclusive.

Officials said the whales were dead, and many of them were found in San Francisco Bay.

Why the whale dies is not yet known.

"It's an open question, why," Giancarlo Rulli, spokesman for the Sausalito Marine Mammal Center, told the NBC Bay Area this week.

“Why not only are there so many late whales in the area, but why are there more flags seen in the live whales in San Francisco than we have at least twenty years (if any) than we have seen in the year?”

The college said that so far this year, 14 whales and a small whale died in the Greater San Francisco Bay area, and three of them were found dead from ship strikes.

It says the bay has seen more gray whales this year - 33 years old, and only six in 2024.

It says some people look normal, others are thin.

"Researchers are still investigating the causes or potential reasons for the massive surge in sightings this year," the college said. "Grey whales are expected to stay in the bay for another week or two before continuing their annual northern migration to Arctic feeding sites."

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, gray whales used to be common in waters throughout the Northern Hemisphere, but are now only found in the North Pacific, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It said they travel about 10,000 miles in their annual round-trip migration.

The agency said gray whales are known to be curious on board, meaning they often see them during whale watching trips. They can grow to 49 feet and weigh about 90,000 pounds.

The Fisheries Bureau said that due to the long-term migration of migration, whales are sometimes hit by ships and entangled in fishing gear, which is one of its biggest threats.