Whales Still Heading in Right Direction

May 28, 04:04 PM

Current Headlines: By Eric Louie, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.

May 28--Delta and Dawn are still heading toward the bay.

The whales appeared to be hovering around Benicia Bridge early Monday morning.

Bernadette Fees, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Fish and Game, said the whales appear to be in a holding pattern and circling around.

It appears the wandering humpback whales, a mother and calf, traveled 24 nautical miles from Rio Vista since Sunday, Fees said.

They spent most of Sunday going back and forth north of the Rio Vista Bridge, but in the afternoon went south and were last seen around 8:15 p.m. near Pittsburg.

Recreational boat traffic during the Memorial Day weekend has been lighter than expected and officials are still keeping boats 500 yards away from the whales.

-----

Copyright (c) 2007, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.