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2 Humpback Whales Lost in Sacramento River
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RIO VISTA, California: Scientists are increasingly concerned about the health of two lost whales as the mother and her calf spent a second day circling near a California bridge about 70 miles (112.6 kilometers) inland from the Pacific.
Both are wounded, apparently from a boat's propeller, and veterinarians have recently seen changes in the wounds' condition, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
"The wounds appear to have worsened over time and their skin has changed from smooth and shiny to irregular and pitted," said Frances Guiland of the Marine Mammal Center.
Fresh water from the Sacramento River could slow the whales' recovery, biologists said. Skin samples from the mother whale have been sent to labs to assess her health.
Scientists and the U.S. Coast Guard tried to position more than two dozen boats in an effort to keep them from swimming upriver Tuesday. Some crews tried to herd the two humpbacks downstream by banging metal pipes beneath the water.
The challenge, officials said, was encouraging the pair to return to salt water quickly but without resorting to tactics that could upset them.
"Stressing even a healthy whale is not good. Stressing an injured whale is worse," said Brian Gorman, a spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The humpbacks, nicknamed Delta and Dawn, had traveled inland more than a week ago before turning around at the Port of Sacramento on Sunday. They were making progress Monday until they reached the Rio Vista Bridge and began swimming in circles.
Scientists theorized that the whales began circling because vibrations from traffic upset them. The pair could not be coaxed forward even when the drawbridge was raised to halt the flow of vehicles.
Scientists have been watching the two closely because their route includes sloughs leading to muddy deltas where the whales could become lost and trapped.
Federal officials have authorized researchers to fire darts carrying a satellite tracking device beneath the mother's fin to monitor her location, but two days of gusty winds and choppy water have delayed the tagging.
Whales are typically known as some of the best navigators in the world, right? I know whales can be found in the St. Lawrence River but that's essentially runoff from the ocean eventually mixing with fresh water, not a fresh water river that dumps into the ocean. These whales would have had to swim upstream in a fresh water current which is unsuitable to them.
Could just be a freak occurrence, but could also be something more, no?
RIO VISTA, California: Scientists are increasingly concerned about the health of two lost whales as the mother and her calf spent a second day circling near a California bridge about 70 miles (112.6 kilometers) inland from the Pacific.
Both are wounded, apparently from a boat's propeller, and veterinarians have recently seen changes in the wounds' condition, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
"The wounds appear to have worsened over time and their skin has changed from smooth and shiny to irregular and pitted," said Frances Guiland of the Marine Mammal Center.
Fresh water from the Sacramento River could slow the whales' recovery, biologists said. Skin samples from the mother whale have been sent to labs to assess her health.
Scientists and the U.S. Coast Guard tried to position more than two dozen boats in an effort to keep them from swimming upriver Tuesday. Some crews tried to herd the two humpbacks downstream by banging metal pipes beneath the water.
The challenge, officials said, was encouraging the pair to return to salt water quickly but without resorting to tactics that could upset them.
"Stressing even a healthy whale is not good. Stressing an injured whale is worse," said Brian Gorman, a spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The humpbacks, nicknamed Delta and Dawn, had traveled inland more than a week ago before turning around at the Port of Sacramento on Sunday. They were making progress Monday until they reached the Rio Vista Bridge and began swimming in circles.
Scientists theorized that the whales began circling because vibrations from traffic upset them. The pair could not be coaxed forward even when the drawbridge was raised to halt the flow of vehicles.
Scientists have been watching the two closely because their route includes sloughs leading to muddy deltas where the whales could become lost and trapped.
Federal officials have authorized researchers to fire darts carrying a satellite tracking device beneath the mother's fin to monitor her location, but two days of gusty winds and choppy water have delayed the tagging.
Whales are typically known as some of the best navigators in the world, right? I know whales can be found in the St. Lawrence River but that's essentially runoff from the ocean eventually mixing with fresh water, not a fresh water river that dumps into the ocean. These whales would have had to swim upstream in a fresh water current which is unsuitable to them.
Could just be a freak occurrence, but could also be something more, no?
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