| Subject: Dumb azz whales deserve to die... |
Author:
DE
|
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 09:31:03 05/28/07 Mon
Large Ships Could Threaten Lost Whales
Published: 5/28/07, 12:05 PM EDT
By MARCUS WOHLSEN
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Rescuers were encouraged by the progress two lost whales have made toward their ocean home but were concerned about encounters the two might have with large ships as they near San Francisco Bay.
A mother humpback whale and her calf were spotted Monday morning in the Sacramento River near the Benicia-Martinez Bridge, about 45 miles from the sea, said Carol Singleton with the Governor's Office of Emergency Services.
The pair had traveled about 24 miles in 24 hours.
Biologists hope that getting the whales into more brackish water could help ease the physical strain they suffered from long exposure to fresh water.
The whales were first spotted in the river May 13 and drew large crowds to the Port of Sacramento before leaving and swimming to Rio Vista last week. Biologists speculated that a tugboat firing up its engines had triggered the sudden departure.
Thus far, the U.S. Coast Guard boats guarding the whales as they swim down river only have had to deal with recreational boats and windsurfers. But as the whales get closer to the bay, they will encounter large oceangoing vessels that could harm them.
"These larger vessels are a real concern to us," said Greg Hurner, a senior adviser with the California Department of Fish and Game. "We will try to keep a safe zone around them, and our enforcement vessels will reach (larger boats) on the marine channel."
The whales also are at risk of taking a wrong turn and swimming up a number of tributaries and sloughs, where they could get stuck in shallow mudflats. Bernadette Fees, deputy director of the California Department of Fish and Game, said rescuers will position boats to block the whales from heading in the wrong direction.
The humpbacks' long exposure to fresh water has led to serious skin damage, biologists said, making them vulnerable to germs they would not face in their native saltwater habitat.
Before the pair headed south, veterinarians used sponges attached to a long pole to swab skin cells from bumps resembling blisters or lesions on the mother and calf.
The bumps could be the result of an infection from bacteria, a virus or fungus, but scientists wouldn't know for sure until they examine the skin cells under a microscope, said Trevor Spradlin, a marine mammal biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Deep gashes in both whales - likely suffered from a run-in with a boat's keel - have also worsened during their river stay. But veterinarians believe antibiotics injected into both whales Saturday could slow the damage.
"We really need to try to get them back into a more appropriate environment so they can start healing," Spradlin said.
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
| |
Feedback: 