Helicopters, Boats Continue Whale Search

May 30, 08:06 PM

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

May 30--SAN FRANCISCO -- The long, worrisome sojourn of two humpback whales that swam all the way to Sacramento finally might be over.

Other than an unconfirmed sighting at Baker Beach this morning, the whales are nowhere to be found, and rescuers hope they have quietly slipped back to their ocean home.

2:40 p.m. Suggestion number disconnected

A telephone number set up so that the public could suggest ways of rescuing the Delta's two injured humpback whales was disconnected Tuesday night after a hacker changed the outgoing message to say that the creatures had been euthanized, a spokesman for U.S. Coast Guard said today.

The bogus recording reportedly indicated that the massive operation ended because of a lawsuit and that the whales had been put down to end their suffering.

In fact, mother and calf were last spotted Tuesday evening just east of the Golden Gate Bridge, and officials are hoping that the absence of sightings so far today means that they made it safely back home.

9:40 a.m. Air search soon under way

Marine experts plan to continue searching the San Francisco Bay and beyond the Golden Gate Bridge all day, but if that turns up nothing, they will assume the whales have safely made it back to the Pacific.

There has been no confirmed sighting of the whales since 8:40 p.m. Tuesday when officials saw the humpbacks at Paradise Cay near Tiburon.

At a news briefing this morning, officials said a helicopter and several boats will continue to search the area. Vessels have also been posted outside the Golden Gate to look for the large mammals.

"We would love to have seen them one last time to say good-bye, but if they made it home, that's what counts," said Bernadette Fees of the state Department of Fish and Game. "We'd be delighted, actually very delighted."

Fees said that they will continue rescue work today, operating out of new headquarters in the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary at San Francisco's Presidio. If nothing happens today, she said they will suspend the rescue tonight, but still keep the Farallones information center open for a day or two.

When asked about the whales' movements, Fees said they seem to slow down in the afternoons, but officials don't know what they do at night because they haven't been monitoring them after dark.

"If we learned anything about these two, they are gonna do what they want to do when they want to do it," Fees said.

She also thanked the 70 rescue workers who have been part of the operation.

"They've worked together as a team and they put their heart and soul into it," she said.

And, although most of the whales' major progress has happened without anyone's help, officials said the rescue experience gave them an unprecedented chance to learn more about the species. It's the first time marine mammal experts have had the opportunity to monitor the endangered whales for such a long time, Fees said, noting they've learned a lot about their general health.

Scientists were unable to tag the whales with tracking devises Tuesday because the device was malfunctioning.

7:30 a.m.: Boat operations are under way

As of 7:30 a.m., the whales had not been spotted since late Tuesday and rescuers were preparing to go back onto the water to continue their search.

"We haven't seen 'em yet," said Carol Singleton, a whale rescue operations spokeswoman with the state's Office of Emergency Services in Sacramento. "We're waiting for a report from the CHP's helicopter, which will do a fly-over."

Singleton said officials plan to hold their morning briefing at 9:15 a.m. at Vallejo's California Maritime Academy. "If they cross over, get through the Golden Gate, then we'll have a larger press conference there," she said.

At 6:30 a.m., Petty Officer Dorian Jackson of the U.S. Coast Guard's Sector San Francisco said the whales are on pace.

"If they continue at the pace they're going, they should hit the Golden Gate (Bridge) by noon," Jackson said. "We're going to be getting a boat under way at 8 a.m." with a complement of boats similar to the one that accompanied them yesterday, he said.

Staff writer George Kelly contributed to this report. Reach Rowena Coetsee at 925-779-7141 or rcoetsee@cctimes.com. Reach Cassandra Braun at 925-779-7174.

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