PENINSULA VALDES, Argentina (AP) — Investigators in Argentina are trying to solve the mystery of baby whales washing up dead in unusually high numbers along the country’s Patagonian coast.
Scores of the calf carcasses have been washing ashore around Peninsula Valdes, a major breeding ground for southern right whales in Argentina’s Chubut province. Hunted to the brink of extinction in the 19th and 20th centuries, the whales now gather in the peninsula’s sheltered waters to give birth and nurse their young.
“We're looking into the whale calf deaths based on 23 years of monitoring that we have of this same population. That's what allows us to say that this is an unusual event," said Marcela Uhart, a veterinarian with the One Health Institute at the University of California, Davis, who is leading the investigation as head of the Southern Right Whale Health Monitoring Program.
The leading hypothesis is that the whale calves are suffering infections from marine bacteria that can enter their bodies through injuries inflicted by kelp gulls, Uhart said.
For decades, the seabirds have pecked at whales surfacing to breathe, gorging on their skin and blubber. Adults learn to surface with only their heads exposed, keeping their backs underwater and out of reach of the gulls. Calves can't do that maneuver, leaving them vulnerable to attacks.
The carcasses have been washing ashore around the gulf city of Puerto Madryn, including near the central waterfront where they alarm residents and tourists. Residents have reported hundreds of them, but researchers declined to give a death toll, saying that would become clear after the season ends around late November.
Uhart and a team of biologists, veterinarians and park rangers have been searching the area for the dead calves from shore and with boats, planes and drones.
The work is gruesome: They photograph and examine the bodies, racing against decomposition to collect skin and organ samples for testing at a veterinary school farther north, in the city of Tandil. Bacteria have already been detected in those tissues, but researchers are still culturing samples to identify the microbes and determine whether infection was the cause of death, she said.
Even if bacteria are to blame, researchers must still determine why they have become so deadly this year.
Changes in marine conditions like warming sea temperatures, potentially linked to climate change or El Nino, could contribute to “this perfect storm where this bacteria is powerful enough to overcome the immunity of the babies and cause their deaths,” Uhart said. “So to the extent that we can, we'll try to identify at least what factors may be triggering this event and making it so massive.”
Right whales got their name from whalers who considered them the “right” animals to hunt because they swam slowly, stayed close to shore and floated when killed, according to the International Whaling Commission, a global body tasked with regulating whaling.
Although illegal hunting continued into the 1970s, southern right whales have gradually rebounded since gaining international protection in 1935. But their recovery remains threatened by the same pressures facing whales worldwide: declining food supplies, fishing gear entanglements, oil spills and ship strikes.
If losses on this scale recur, they could slow the population’s recovery. By pinpointing what is killing the calves, researchers hope to find ways to protect the vulnerable population.
“If the cause relates to something that we are doing as humans, then we need to change that,” Uhart said. “We don’t want to endanger these whales again.”
Seabirds perch on the carcass of a southern right whale off El Doradillo Beach near Puerto Madryn, Argentina, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Maxi Jonas)
Seabirds perch on the carcass of a southern right whale off El Doradillo Beach near Puerto Madryn, Argentina, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Maxi Jonas)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Joey Porter Jr. spent the last three seasons becoming exactly who the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted him to be: an emerging shutdown corner capable of neutralizing the most dynamic playmakers in a conference littered with elite quarterbacks and where big, physical defenders on the outside are in short supply.
As the rangy 6-foot-2 Porter began the final year of his rookie contract, there was an assumption on both sides that a new deal would get done before the 2026 season began.
Standing in the sun outside the team's facility in early June at the start of mandatory minicamp, Porter seemed upbeat talking about what seemed like an eventuality.
Asked if he considered himself one of the top cornerbacks in the league and if it was important for him to be compensated as such, Porter didn't hesitate.
"I feel like I was an elite guy since I’ve been in this league,” said Porter, who didn't allow a touchdown pass in 2024 or 2025. “And I’m happy that I’m getting the respect that I feel I (am) owed.”
That “respect,” at least Porter's version of it, never materialized from the team he once served as a ball boy for. While the Steelers put together deal after deal with Porter's 2023 draft classmates — from Nick Herbig to Darnell Washington to Keeanu Benton — talks between Porter's reps and Pittsburgh general manager Omar Khan stalled.
As the opener neared, Porter admitted it was difficult to take his emotions out of the equation. One week's absence due to a back injury whose severity was nebulous at best turned into two, then three, and then four when Porter left practice on Wednesday and the team ruled him out.
A few hours later, he was traded to Dallas. Hours later, Pittsburgh's secondary faltered in crucial moments in a 27-24 loss to Cleveland that dropped the Steelers to 2-2.
“I never really got the chance to coach Joey,” first-year coach Mike McCarthy said afterward. “He obviously did some great things here.”
Apparently not enough for the Steelers to pay Porter the money he was seeking, a somewhat curious decision considering how valuable players with Porter's unique skill set are.
Seattle and New England rode their excellent defenses to the Super Bowl in February. The champion Seahawks lavished Devon Witherspoon with a new contract in August and the Patriots did the same with Christian Gonzalez on the eve of the season.
While Porter doesn't quite have their respective resumes — he's never made the Pro Bowl or been named All-Pro — he was trending in that direction. Unlike most of the stars on the league's highest-paid defense, Porter is entering his prime, not transitioning out of it.
Perhaps even more vitally, the Steelers have no heir apparent.
Last Sunday, Cincinnati's Joe Burrow and wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins toyed with a Porter-less secondary in a game the Bengals might have won if not for a pair of special teams gaffes.
On Thursday night, a seemingly rejuvenated Browns quarterback DeShaun Watson passed for 268 yards, 60 of which came after a second-quarter communication mix-up by rookie Daylen Everette allowed Cleveland wideout Denzel Boston to shake loose on a drive that ended with the Browns taking the lead.
Pittsburgh's decision to not negotiate with Porter once the season started — a longstanding club policy — seems counterproductive for a team trying to “win now."
The retiring Aaron Rodgers and his $20-plus million paycheck will be off the books next season. The team could also move on from some older defensive stars or restructure contracts to provide salary cap relief.
The cap figures will go up again next spring and there will almost certainly be no franchise QB to pay. The money for Porter was there if the Steelers felt compelled to find it. Khan, like every other GM in the NFL, is skilled in the art of massaging the numbers to make things work.
The club ultimately decided Porter wasn't worth it.
And now they have to find a way to slow down Burrow, Lamar Jackson and maybe even Watson to keep pace in the AFC North. And if they want any shot of making a dent in the playoffs, they'll likely have to stop other elite QBs — Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes come to mind — without their best outside cornerback.
Porter was uniquely valuable to the Steelers, and the decision to let him go may sting them for some time.
Giving Jaylen Warren the football. The relentlessly punishing running back had another 126 total yards on Thursday and is on pace for a career year.
Longtime defensive captain Cam Heyward cautioned some things wouldn't be as sharp on a short week and Pittsburgh's poor tackling proved him right.
Wide receiver DK Metcalf seems to have shaken off the drops that dogged him in early September. Metcalf caught five passes for 115 yards and looked like a threat every time he touched the ball.
The late decision-making on both sides of the ball. Pittsburgh's zone played too soft against Watson on Cleveland's game-winning drive. Rodgers opting to chuck it deep on the Steelers' final snap rather than use the middle of the field and call a timeout to set up a long field goal attempt was ill-advised.
Second-year defensive tackle Derrick Harmon spent the second half on the sideline with his left foot in a walking boot. Cornerback Jamel Dean exited with an ankle injury.
0-10 — Pittsburgh's record on the road on Thursday nights against AFC North opponents.
Spend the weekend recovering physically and mentally before regrouping to host Indianapolis on Oct. 11.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Dk Metcalf celebrates against the Cleveland Browns during the second half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/David Richard)
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers passes under pressure from Cleveland Browns defensive end Jared Verse during the first half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt celebrates against the Cleveland Browns during the second half of an NFL football game in Cleveland, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/David Richard)
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns in Cleveland, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/David Richard)
