Rescuers Will Try to Steer Whales Away From Napa River

May 29, 04:07 PM

Current Headlines: By Rowena Coetsee and Judith Prieve, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.

May 29--VALLEJO -- After dawdling near the Benicia-Martinez Bridge for much of the holiday, the two humpback whales are now a half mile east of the Carquinez Bridge.

Bernadette Fees, deputy director of the California Department of Fish and Game, said the whales were first sighted just east of the Carquinez Bridge at 7 a.m. today. The whales were seen swimming parallel to a large barge that was traveling west in the strait.

Their progress comes after they moved about 24 miles down the Sacramento River, having started their journey again on a Sunday afternoon.

Here's the latest from the scene:

10:30 a.m. Napa River tributary cause trouble

A dozen boats are in the Carquinez Strait this morning to make sure the wayward mother and calf don't get hurt or veer in the wrong direction in this busy shipping waters.

Although the experts are happy the whales have made it to brackish waters, they are worried that they might head in the wrong direction -- perhaps north into the Petaluma or Napa rivers -- once they make it past the Carquinez Bridge.

At a morning news briefing at the Vallejo Maritime Academy, a state Department of Fish and Game spokeswoman said boats will be posted in the area to head them off at the pass and make sure they swim toward San Pablo Bay.

Fees said the whales' skin condition has improved, so a second dose of antibiotics is unlikely. Biologists reported Monday that the mammals' skin lesions were starting to slough off, which is good, and they are getting back to a normal, shiny appearance. The whales' wounds weren't very visible, so they don't know how much progress have been made on that front, she said.

Scientists will try today to obtain skin tissue and blubber sample from the calf today. Samples from the mother went to three different labs but are not back yet, Fees said. They have not yet decided which population the whales are from either, she said.

Fees did say the calf has become very active and that is not typical behavior, but they don't know why.

The experts also have not confirmed whether the mother whale is nursing. They will need samples from both mother and calf to confirm; if the samples match, then nursing is taking place, Fees said.

Nor do scientists know why whales have made significant moves on Sunday, the spokeswoman said. Curiously, the whales have made downward progress each time at about 2 p.m. on a Sunday.

No tracking device has been placed on the mother whale yet.

Fees said there are no plans to begin banging on pipes, or use loud music or fireboats' spray unless whales turn upriver in which case any or all of those techniques will happen.

Once they make it to the Carquinez Bridge, the whales still have another 26 miles to traverse before getting to the Golden Gate Bridge.

8:30 a.m.: Brackish waters should help

Marine experts are hoping the brackish water will help heal their wounds and ease their skin irritations from being in fresh water for so long.

After wandering in the Delta for two weeks, they stopped Monday at the Benicia Bridge before moving on again last night and again early this morning.

Whale lovers are still flocking the shoreline trying to catch a glimpse of the endangered mammals.

The rescuers are still considering whether to attempt to inject more antibiotics into the injured animals. They administered antibiotics on Saturday, but were not able to do it again on Monday.

A 9:15 a.m. media conference will be held at the campus of the California Maritime Academy, 200 Maritime Academy Drive, on the whales' condition and possible herding efforts later today.

Reach Judith Prieve at 925-779-7178 or jprieve@cctimes.com. Reach Rowena Coetsee at 925-779-7141 or rcoetsee@cctimes.com.

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