Calif's wayward whales back on track

[babylonsister]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/science/4845582.html

Calif's wayward whales back on track

By MARCUS WOHLSEN Associated Press Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press


VALLEJO, Calif. — Two humpback whales lost in the Sacramento River for more than two weeks closed in on the ocean Tuesday, raising hopes among rescuers as they neared San Francisco Bay.

The whales swam southwest toward the busy Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, which spans the northern gateway to the bay. Once in the bay, they will have to navigate around a peninsula in their path before swimming under the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific.

Still, the fear remained that the whales might head south instead of west, passing under the Bay Bridge and into the long southern half of the bay.

"There are lots of places they could get themselves into trouble before they go out of the Golden Gate," said Rod McInnis, a spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

But, he said, the whales could be back out in the Pacific in a few hours from their current location "if they put their minds to it."

more...

[Double T]

1. Keep on hoping for their healing and safe return to the open Pacific Ocean.

[Bobbieo]

2. That's the best news I'v e had today!!!

[emilyg]

3. Yes.

[Merlot]

4. I think they'll find their way

It seems like they needed a quiet safe place to hide and heal. We may think they are confused, but maybe she knows exactly what she's doing for herself and her calf.

We can only hope!

[Garbo 2004]

5. They weren't healing in the Sacramento river, they were getting worse.

Not enough food and they needed salt water to help heal their wounds. That's why there were attempts to get them to move back to the bay. Their condition was deteriorating where they were.

The antibiotics given to them on Saturday likely may have helped them.

[LeftyMom]

6. They weren't healing here.

They probably picked up the propeller cuts here, as the area they were in is big for both recreational and commercial boating. There was nothing for them to eat, it was far too noisy, the Sacramento's dirty and full of pesticides (though both the temperature and the pollution would have been much worse a mile or so upriver past the junction with the American river) and the water was much too warm.

Nobody really knows why humpbacks come up the river sometimes, but it sure doesn't appear to be good for them.

[Garbo 2004]

7. As of the 6 pm local news they said they were by Tiburon, Angel Island..

One of our TV stations had a copter out there. They've got video: http://www.kcra.com/index.html

Map showing Tiburon and Angel Island: http://www.ci.tiburon.ca.us/maps/index.asp Zoom out on the map and you can see where the Golden Gate is.

SF Chron story here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/29/BAGRKQ37II4.DTL