Nature News
A bridge too far as California whales remain stranded
May 24, 2007, 4:37 GMT
San Francisco - Two humpback whales stranded on California's inland waterways exhibited growing signs of distress Wednesday as marine experts struggled to coax the cow and calf past a bridge on the river that would lead them back to the ocean.
The pair, nicknamed Delta and Dawn, have been circling since Monday at the Rio Vista bridge, 120 kilometres from the ocean, after beginning to swim back toward the ocean on Sunday.
Researchers said that the whales were wildly slapping their tales in the water in a sign of distress, 11 days after they left the ocean as they participated in the annual humpback migration from the coasts of Baja Mexico to their summer feeding grounds in Alaska.
'We are concerned that she is getting increasingly stressed,' said Frances Gulland, a veterinarian with the Marine Mammal Centre, who was aboard a boat tracking the whales.
With the whales' skin condition also worsening, scientists stopped the banging on metal pipes that they had hoped would drive the whales back to the ocean, fearing it could stress the whales further.
'Stressing even a healthy whale is not good. Stressing an injured whale is worse,' said Brian Gorman, a spokesman for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
But they did take heart from the whale Humphrey, who survived 25 days in the Sacramento River delta before returning to the ocean. Humphrey also balked at swimming under the Rio Vista bridge in 1985, but once he crossed under it he swam straight out to the ocean.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
blog comments powered by DisqusLatest Headlines in Nature
- 1. USA California Tsunami Wave Pictures
- 2. Japan Earthquake Tsunami Pictures
- 3. Indonesia Bromo Eruption Pictures
- 4. UN: Bee colonies worldwide under threat from chemicals and pollution
- 5. USA Hawaii Volcano Pictures
Older Talkback
page: 1
Maybe this is too simplistic, but if the whales won't cross the bridge because of the reverberations caused by traffic, why don't they just close the bridge to traffic? I know it'd be a hassle for commuters, but come on!
I would definitely love for these whales to get back into the ocean safely... but... on the other hand, this is nature, and perhaps we should let nature take its course? Why do we feel we need to interfere here?
I completely understand the strong feeling of wanting to help. I probably would also, if I could. But I'm not sure we really should in this case.
Let nature take it's course? Did we let nature take it's course when we hunted these animals into oblivion? Was it nature that let us kill them just for their blubber and leave the rest of the animal behind? I think we should do anything we can to get them back into the ocean. It's our fault that they are endangered. We should do everything we can to save an adult breeding female and her calf. If they die, then that 2 generations of whales that suffer.
I don't think we need to confuse these two things. Of course it was wrong to have hunted whales to near extinction, but that is a separate issue. Most countries in the world have now banned whale hunting, for quite some time. This particular species (humpback whale) is not threatened with extinction any more (its exact status is 'vulnerable' which is supposedly better than 'endangered').
Insofar as humans are a product of nature (I personally believe so) their behavior is also natural, just as natural as a killer whale hunting seal. What's right and wrong is a separate issue. Humans have far more intellect and can reflect upon what they do more than animals, so we have more responsibility for our actions. That is probably what you meant - and I would agree.
I'm not opposed at all to the people trying to help these animals get back to the ocean - on the balance, I agree that we probably should. I was just trying to offer a different point of view that I think is worth considering.
In the 'wild' (i.e. nature) many animals could live longer and healthier lives if at the right moment in time some good human came long to help them. As a general rule you don't see this happening, which is what I meant by 'nature taking its course'.
We should also consider that what is in the best interest for humpback whales as a species is that the fittest individuals survive. Now what if this particular whale mom got lost because she is less able to navigate than is normal for her species? Perhaps this is nature's way of 'weeding out' less strong individuals, with a resulting stronger species.
Of course this just speculation and probably far-fetched, but we humans shouldn't always think that we know how to manage nature. We don't really know that. In specific situations I think the best is to let 'nature run its course' unless we are sure we are doing the right thing. Anybody that puts in a little bit of effort in researching the history of 'nature management' by man will see this.
page: 1
yvonnejayneMay 24th, 2007 - 11:40:46
Are the authorities entertaining suggestions from the public? Perhaps they should, if the current strategies are not working. I have emailed several agencies with an alternative strategy, but I don't know that I have written to the right people, nor do I know whether my suggestion will be evaluated. Perhaps if I post it here, another reader may help ensure it is seen and considered by the biologists.
I believe that the mother whale's first priority is to protect her calf, her second priority to get them home. But she's obviously lost, her usual navigational aids don't help her in a river, and predator calls could make her flee with her baby in the wrong direction. Possibly the whales, who are desperate to find their salt water habitat, can be gently lured back to the ocean by 'the taste of home'.
A tugboat could be attached to a large, shallow barge to pull it, slowly and quietly, upriver toward the ocean. Small amounts of salt could be trickled into the water from the back of the barge. Dangling short lengths of seaweed from the back of the barge might also attract the whales to follow. Cetaceans can detect, i.e., taste, even very small changes in the water. And if the bridge is raised at the appropriate time and the whales see that the barge can easily clear the passage, they may feel safe to pass it as well. When they get closer to the ocean, they'll taste the natural salinity in the water and the mother will know they're on the right path.
I'm praying that these magnificent, intelligent creatures make it back to the ocean -- in time, and by whatever means.
Report this comment