Delta Whale Rescue Operation Put on Hold

[Barrett808]

Source: KCBS

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- Coast Guard leaders and marine experts have called off the whale rescue effort for now, and are in a meeting to decide what to do next.

A flotilla of boats tried to drive the wayward humpback whales stuck in the Sacramento Delta toward the ocean again this morning, but the animals refused to be herded south.

Concerns about the whales’ health are mounting. The mother and calf have wounds believed to be from a boat’s propeller. Marine biologists say the gashes have gotten worse and their behavior has also changed. The animals have been lobbing their tails, which could be a sign of distress.

After getting no response last week from playing whale sounds under water, rescuers had been using the strategy of banging on metal pipes to agitate the whales into moving away from the sound.

Read more: http://www.kcbs.com/pages/494855.php?contentType=4&contentId=533718

[ThomCat]

1. Wow. I hope they find something that works.

:(

[BrotherBuzz]

2. I wish the local TV coverage would be put on hold, too

I live between San Francisco and Sacramento, and listen to both markets. I am really growing tired of the 24/7 saturation coverage the whales have received. I care about the whales, but the media circus is taxing me to the core. If I hear another newsjocks interview another person who just had to come down to see the whales, my head will explode.

:crazy:

[Judi Lynn]

3. Hope they make it home. They need the salt water to help heal their wounds.

As you mentioned earlier, since authorities believe they are frightened of the noise traffic makes on the Rio Vista bridge, it would make complete sense to block traffic to that area long enough for them to summons the courage once more to pass the bridge.

The temporary inconvenience to drivers could mean everything to these two wonderful animals.

[Barrett808]

4. Update: New Strategy to Get Whales Home

RIO VISTA, Calif. (KCBS) -- Whale rescue teams Wednesday employed new tactics to encourage a wounded mother whale and her calf to head for open water.

Attempts to herd the whales through the Rio Vista Bridge with boats and banging pipes were unsuccessful. The 19 boats were able to drive the animals nearly four miles down the Sacramento River, but the whales turned around when they were close to the bridge and as the tide began to change.

Experts suspended those efforts to regroup. They have now added some new sounds to their arsenal, according to Trevor Spradlin, a biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

The first they are trying are the sounds of Humpback whales feeding in Monterey Bay, he said. They had been using the sounds of Humpbacks feeding in Alaska; they're hoping the new location will make a difference.

If that fails, Spradlin said scientists will play the sounds of killer whales attacking a Grey whale and her calf. And the last resort are man-made sounds that would be unusual and strange to the whales and perhaps spook them enough to leave, he said.

(more)

http://www.kcbs.com/pages/495220.php?contentType=4&contentId=534037