Whale Tale

For almost a week, there have been two humpback whales, a mother and baby, "lost" in the Sacramento River.  I was going to drive out there (about two hours) to get a look at the whales but I haven't.  I'm not sure I want to see them there.  I want to see them.  I have flown all the way to Hawaii to go whale watching in the past.  However, the fact that they are sort of not where they are supposed to be and that they are swimming up and down the canal, makes me feel a little strange about being opportunistic in going out there to see them.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I know that they will be there whether I go or not.  That isn't it.  I don't know what it is, really.  I just feel a little strange about going to see them there.  Perhaps my mind will be made up for me before I make it up myself.  The pair seems to have turned around and headed back for the Golden Gate and the ocean, but they stopped about forty-five miles short of the bridge and turned around again!  Tomorrow, the Coast Guard and scientists may try to scare them back out toward the ocean.  They anticipate banging pans with pipes and hammers under water to create such a noise that it will cause the humpbacks to swim back in the other direction.  They are hopeful that this will work.  The method they tried last week didn't.  Last week they played whale calls deep in the water to lure them toward the sounds and "escort" them back toward the bay.  It failed.

Time, apparently, is of the essence.  The two do not have salt water fish to feed on and both are injured.  It appears that both mother and baby were struck by a ship's propeller that managed to cut into their dorsal fins.  Scientists are watching them closely.  Today, they used a harpoon to take a tiny sample of blubber from the mother for analysis, which will give them some clues as to the health of the mother.

I've also that perhaps the thing to do is to watch news reports and once they are headed for the Golden Gate again, my daughter and I can drive and park near the bridge to see them pass under it and out into the open Pacific Ocean.  Of course, there is no way to know if they will reach that point in daylight hours or if at some point prior to arrival at the mouth of the San Francisco bay, they will turn around again or take a detour into one of the rivers or channels.

So I wait.  I watch the story.  I think about it.  And we'll just see.