Thermal cameras now alert ships to gray whales in San Francisco Bay

Of 16 gray whales spotted in San Francisco Bay this year, seven have died — several from ship strikes. Climate change is shrinking their Arctic food supply, driving them into the bay on their 12,000-mile Mexico-to-Alaska migration. A coalition of scientists and officials installed a thermal camera on a bay island that detects whale exhalations, screens alerts with AI, and notifies the U.S. Coast Guard in real time.