Post by Swamp Gas on May 30, 2007 21:35:55 GMT -5
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/30/BAG9EQ3TU818.DTL
Whales disappear -- rescuers believe they're back at sea
Henry K. Lee and Glen Martin, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Wayward Humpbacks
Whales disappear -- rescuers believe they're back at sea (5/30)
Whales swimming near Tiburon (5/29)
Pair near bridge, then halt (5/29)
Whales lingering near Benicia Bridge (5/28)
Whales injected with antibiotics (5/27)
Hundreds offer ideas for helping lost whales (5/26)
Next tactic: Killer whale sounds (5/24)
Whales stressed, suffering (5/23)
Biologists try to get animals moving toward ocean again (5/22)
Ice chests, binocs, cameras fill shore (5/20)
Hundreds flock to waterway (5/19)
CBS 5 video of the whales (5/17)
Urgent rescue bid (5/17)
Humphrey caught the imagination of thousands (5/17)
2 humpacks making way up the delta (5/15)
(05-30) 10:20 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Researchers are optimistic that two humpback whales are back in the ocean today after an unusual two-week stay in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
The whales, spotted late Tuesday off Tiburon, could have made it out of the Golden Gate any time after dark. Sighting reports this morning have not been confirmed and could be linked to other types of whales believed to be cruising through San Francisco Bay.
"They could be anywhere," said Carol Singleton, spokeswoman for the state Office of Emergency Services.
"The hope is that they're home and they're safe," Singleton said. "It would be nice to have a dramatic ending where we're standing on the Golden Gate Bridge as they pass under. But most important is that they're in safer water."
The biologists and veterinarians who had been working to help guide the whales back to the Pacific Ocean were unable to attach a telemetry tag to the mother whale because of a malfunction with the tag. That means it likely will be impossible to track the mother and calf unless they are spotted in the ocean and identified by their skin markings.
The behemoths have proved to be elusive -- and unpredictable -- since they traveled 90 miles inland more than two weeks ago after apparently taking a wrong turn during their annual migration north.
Hundreds of whale watchers have turned out for a look at the creatures. Rescuers had tried in vain to coax the cetaceans back to the bay, using tactics ranging from banging pipes to playing recordings of whale sounds.
But at about 2 p.m. May 20, when rescuers had backed off from any herding efforts, the whales unexpectedly began heading back toward the Pacific Ocean after spending about a week in a basin at the Port of Sacramento. Officials speculated that they skedaddled after hearing the powerful, low-frequency thrum of two tugboats that throttled up to help maneuver a bulk carrier with a load of fertilizer.
They then swam in circles, refusing to pass under the Rio Vista Bridge. That gave marine biologists and veterinarians in boats some time to inject antibiotics into both whales on Saturday to help treat wounds possibly caused by a boat.
Then at 2 p.m. Sunday -- exactly one week after they left Sacramento -- they swam under the Rio Vista Bridge and continued west.
From there, things moved quickly, possibly because the whales were rejuvenated by their return to saltier water. By 10 a.m. Tuesday, they had darted under the Benicia and Carquinez bridges. They passed under the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and entered San Francisco Bay around 5 p.m., having traveled more than 30 miles.
Whales disappear -- rescuers believe they're back at sea
Henry K. Lee and Glen Martin, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Wayward Humpbacks
Whales disappear -- rescuers believe they're back at sea (5/30)
Whales swimming near Tiburon (5/29)
Pair near bridge, then halt (5/29)
Whales lingering near Benicia Bridge (5/28)
Whales injected with antibiotics (5/27)
Hundreds offer ideas for helping lost whales (5/26)
Next tactic: Killer whale sounds (5/24)
Whales stressed, suffering (5/23)
Biologists try to get animals moving toward ocean again (5/22)
Ice chests, binocs, cameras fill shore (5/20)
Hundreds flock to waterway (5/19)
CBS 5 video of the whales (5/17)
Urgent rescue bid (5/17)
Humphrey caught the imagination of thousands (5/17)
2 humpacks making way up the delta (5/15)
(05-30) 10:20 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Researchers are optimistic that two humpback whales are back in the ocean today after an unusual two-week stay in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
The whales, spotted late Tuesday off Tiburon, could have made it out of the Golden Gate any time after dark. Sighting reports this morning have not been confirmed and could be linked to other types of whales believed to be cruising through San Francisco Bay.
"They could be anywhere," said Carol Singleton, spokeswoman for the state Office of Emergency Services.
"The hope is that they're home and they're safe," Singleton said. "It would be nice to have a dramatic ending where we're standing on the Golden Gate Bridge as they pass under. But most important is that they're in safer water."
The biologists and veterinarians who had been working to help guide the whales back to the Pacific Ocean were unable to attach a telemetry tag to the mother whale because of a malfunction with the tag. That means it likely will be impossible to track the mother and calf unless they are spotted in the ocean and identified by their skin markings.
The behemoths have proved to be elusive -- and unpredictable -- since they traveled 90 miles inland more than two weeks ago after apparently taking a wrong turn during their annual migration north.
Hundreds of whale watchers have turned out for a look at the creatures. Rescuers had tried in vain to coax the cetaceans back to the bay, using tactics ranging from banging pipes to playing recordings of whale sounds.
But at about 2 p.m. May 20, when rescuers had backed off from any herding efforts, the whales unexpectedly began heading back toward the Pacific Ocean after spending about a week in a basin at the Port of Sacramento. Officials speculated that they skedaddled after hearing the powerful, low-frequency thrum of two tugboats that throttled up to help maneuver a bulk carrier with a load of fertilizer.
They then swam in circles, refusing to pass under the Rio Vista Bridge. That gave marine biologists and veterinarians in boats some time to inject antibiotics into both whales on Saturday to help treat wounds possibly caused by a boat.
Then at 2 p.m. Sunday -- exactly one week after they left Sacramento -- they swam under the Rio Vista Bridge and continued west.
From there, things moved quickly, possibly because the whales were rejuvenated by their return to saltier water. By 10 a.m. Tuesday, they had darted under the Benicia and Carquinez bridges. They passed under the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and entered San Francisco Bay around 5 p.m., having traveled more than 30 miles.