Whales at Last Over the Hump?: Pair Steamed Ahead Until Reaching Another Bridge.

May 29, 01:52 PM

Current Headlines: By Jim Downing, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

May 29--Delta and Dawn, the wandering humpback whales, were spotted about a half mile east of the Carquinez Bridge late Tuesday morning, officials said.

They still have 26 nautical miles to get to the Golden Gate Bridge, and researchers say their main concern is that the pair may wander into the Napa or Petaluma rivers. They'll take precautions, they said, if it looks like the whales are approaching those waterways.

Coast Guard Petty Officer John Cilley said the whales appear to be in good spirits.

The whales left the Sacramento River near Rio Vista Sunday afternoon and spent much of Monday swimming near the Benicia-Martinez Bridge briege.

"They did make some progress again last evening," California Department of Fish and Game Spokeswoman Bernadette Fees said Tuesday morning.

Rescuers will keep their distance Tuesday she said, only attempting to get a flesh sample from the calf. She said antibiotics administered over the weekend appear to be taking effect and that the whales' wounds are healing.

Rescuers remained optimistic because the mother and calf reached brackish water and their health appears to be improving.

To reach the ocean, the whales now must navigate the busy waters of the Carquinez Strait, San Pablo Bay and San Francisco Bay. And researchers who have watched the whales for more than two weeks say they still can't tell what prompts the whales to start or stop, turn one way or the other.

"We are anticipating that there could be some wrong turns" ahead, Fees said.

Prior to their weekend move, the whales had stalled just upstream from Rio Vista for nearly a week. But then they hauled, moving at speeds of up to 4.5 mph. The pair reached Pittsburg by Sunday evening, and by early Monday were at Martinez.

While they are no longer in the Delta's narrow ship channel -- where their confounding circling had made for spectacular up-close viewing -- the whales continue to draw crowds.

Monday evening, hundreds of people gathered on gravel piles beneath the north end of the Benicia-Martinez Bridge. With the Tosco refinery and Mount Diablo in the background, the whales spouted and slapped at the water.

The crowd cheered each appearance.

Suisun City resident Abraham Cajudo, 25, stopped on his way home from Walnut Creek after spotting the whale watchers from the freeway above.

"We saw them and figured we'd come down and join the circus," he said.

Katie Milner of Martinez and Jay Kramarczyk of El Cerrito took their river kayaks out into the water beneath the bridge in hopes of getting a closer look.

Milner, 23, said her 8-foot kayak felt very small even several hundred feet from the mother whale.

"I got kind of scared. They don't look that big on TV," she said.

Monday evening, the whales were about 50 miles downstream from the Port of Sacramento, where their freshwater journey dead-ended nearly two weeks ago.

Researchers hope the combination of a return to salt water and a dose of antibiotics administered Saturday are helping to return the whales to health, Fees said. The two are suffering from wounds apparently caused by a ship's propeller. Both also have skin lesions that may be caused by prolonged exposure to fresh water.

A skin swab taken Saturday still is under analysis.

Over the past week, the whales at times appeared sluggish and sick. But Monday, Fees said, at least some of their energy seemed to have returned. Dawn, the calf, was seen diving and rolling in the water.

"The calf was certainly exhibiting typical calf behavior," Fees said.

The whales are now in water used heavily by both oceangoing ships and recreational boats. An escort of U.S. Coast Guard boats is maintaining a 500-yard perimeter around the whales during daylight hours.

Research vessels are monitoring the whales from within that safe zone.

The rescue team did not engage in any active herding maneuvers Monday.

The Coast Guard boats will not maintain the perimeter at night, however, because of concern that they could hit the whales.

Several fireboats are on call today to resume spraying a water cannon, if officials determine it is needed. That tactic appeared to have some success Friday in coaxing the whales to change direction.

"It's not our intent to try to start the whales by spraying them," said Rod McInnes, regional director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"But if it looks like we're going to lose significant ground, that's what we'll do."

The whales were scheduled to receive a second dose of antibiotics Monday, but by evening, veterinarians on the water were having difficulty getting a shot off because of high winds and choppy water, as well as traffic from recreational boats.

The drugs are injected just below the dorsal fin via a foot-long syringe shot from a modified .22-caliber rifle. Monday morning, the three syringes injected into the mother whale on Saturday were still hanging from her hide.

Fees said veterinarians expect the syringes will eventually loosen and fall out.

McInnes said discussions are under way between rescue officials and the Coast Guard on the possibility of limiting ship traffic while the whales are in the channel.

McInnis also said a plan to attach tracking devices to the whales has been delayed by technical difficulties. Scientists want to attach satellite transmitters to the whales before they swim from San Francisco Bay into the ocean.

Such instruments would be attached to barbed hooks shot into the whales' hides and would allow scientists to follow the whales in the open sea.

The tags are expected to fall off after two to three months, but researchers could also identify the whales by unique markings on the undersides of their tail fins if they are encountered again.

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