Whales Gone Without Even Saying Goodbye

May 30 - KGO (KGO) -- Experts assume the whales sneaked under the golden gate bridge and into the ocean sometime after dark -- no one got to see them off. It would have been the end of a two week journey through the Sacramento River from the Port of Sacramento.

The humpback and her calf were last seen around 8:30 p.m., last night, near Tiburon's Paradise Cay where they ran aground in 10 feet of water before working themselves out. During the 17-day operation scientists say they gathered a wealth of knowledge.

Dr. Frances Gulland, Marine Mammal Center: "This is a humpback whale's jaw bone. The scientists estimate the mother humpback whale's jaw bone is three feet longer than this one."

"That's the first time we've ever given a wild free-swimming whale antibiotics."

Yellow scaly patches were growing all over the cow and calf. So rescue crews used a specially made gun and dart to inject the antibiotic, 57 CC's per injection -- three for the mother, one for the calf.

"We have seen a dramatic improvement in their skin. The yellow plaques have disappeared."

The scientists now believe the maximum length a humpback can survive in fresh water is two weeks. They also believe their herding tactics to get the whales down stream had a minimal effect. The public offered hundreds of suggestions.

Frances: "Some of the better suggestions is like bubble curtains. Creating screens of bubbles that the animals would not perceive sound on the other side of the bubble curtain. "

The whales eventually found their own way to sea. So were they ever lost?

Dr. John Calambokidis, Cascadia Research Collective: "We saw schools of bait fish right at the entrance of the Golden Gate today in our surveys so lost may not be the word. It could be a case where the whales were pursuing fish, became injured and that led to a disorientation."

Scientists say they're seeing less of the whales' favorite food, krill. So the whales are swimming closer to shore for bait fish, which means the odds of seeing more whales in the bay could be increasing.

To learn more about the frustration felt by whale watch-goers and scientists alike, read The Back Story.

To comment on the whale efforts underway, e-mail sacramento.whales@noaa.gov.

For more information on the wayward whales' progress from NOAA's National Ocean Service, click here.

ABC7 Extra:
Watch Tuesday's (5/29) 3 p.m. press conference update on the whales below:

Watch edited highlights of Tuesday's (5/22) best moments captured by our ABC7 cameras:

Watch edited portions of Monday's (5/14) whale sightings from SKY7-HD below.

Get more News »

• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•