Rescue Planned for Another Endangered Baby Whale

SAN DIEGO —  For the second time in 10 days, a baby California gray whale is in danger of dying off the Southern California coast and a rescue effort will be attempted, probably this morning, officials said Monday.

Lobster fishermen spotted the infant whale Monday morning tangled in thick kelp about a mile off the Sunset Cliffs section of San Diego.

Initially, officials of the National Marine Fisheries Service told Sea World, the aquatic theme park, not to attempt a rescue since the case did not appear to fit the fisheries service’s rules. Charged with enforcing the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the agency, in most cases, requires that animals either be beached or have been harmed by humans to merit rescue.

Since kelp is considered “a natural event,” permission for a rescue was denied Monday morning by fisheries’ service officials. But late in the afternoon, when it appeared that the listless whale was probably going to be washed ashore, that decision was overturned.

At nightfall, Sea World animal rescue specialists and city of San Diego lifeguards boarded a barge to travel to the spot where the whale was spotted.

Without a rescue attempt, the struggling calf would almost certainly die, given the near-complete dependency of whale calves on their mothers, experts said. About one-third of whale calves die in their first year.

The whale spotted Monday was estimated to be 13 to 14 feet long and probably less than a week old. Lifeguards say it showed no sign of injury, but it still had a stubby part of its umbilicus attached.

San Diego lifeguards who responded to the lobster fishermen’s call jumped into the chilly water to cut away the kelp that had wrapped around the calf’s tail. Members of the stranded-animal rescue team from Sea World also responded but backed off after contacting the National Marine Fisheries Service by cellular phone.

“If something is not done quickly, nature is going to take its course,” one lifeguard said.

Lifeguards reported that the whale appeared lethargic and did not attempt to swim away once freed from the kelp. No other whales were spotted in the area, giving rise to the suspicion that the calf’s mother had continued her migration south to Baja California from the Bering Sea.

Although thousands of whales make the annual migration, it is rare that a whale gets tangled in the thick kelp beds that parallel the coast. In 1988 Sea World freed three gray whales that had become tangled in drift nets.

Calves are dependent on their mothers for up to a year and have no ability to feed themselves except for suckling mother’s milk, which provides nourishment and antibodies to ward off infections.

As Monday’s mini-drama continued to play out, Sea World officials reported that J.J., the beached gray whale brought to the park Jan. 11, gained 70 pounds over the weekend and is now able to suckle an artificial nipple rather than be fed through a tube in its throat. Now weighing 1,840 pounds, J.J. gets two gallons of food every four hours.

“We’re playing the role of mom,” said Sea World veterinarian Tom Reidarson.