The Freed Whale

Rescuers free whale entangled in rope : "A humpback whale that was entangled in marine gear off the coast of Mount Desert Island for at least 20 hours was cut free just after noon Sunday. "

Here's a nice little article, about a whale that was saved from being entangled in marine gear off of the coast of Maine. It made note that they don't bother disentangling whales unless it's life threatening. Not only is it a danger for the whale, it is also a danger to boaters and the rescuers. It took a whole 20 hours in part because of a dense fog reducing visibility to about 100 feet.

Get the complete story through the link.

- Gary

Signs of Whales Returning

Redesigned signs warn of dangers during whale season: "Fearing that more boating traffic increases the potential for collisions with humpback whales during the winter whale season, state and federal agencies say they are posting new warning signs at harbors and boat ramps."

The signs of the whales return are litterally starting to show in the Hawaiian Islands region...

New signs are being posted that are easier to read and understand at a glance warning about whale collision, compared to the older signs that are harder to read while passing. This is good, since when the next generation of calves are born and start their life they need to surface more often.

Gary Schmidt

What's Really Out There?

There haven't been too many interesting stories to report about whales lately... usually the same old stuff about whales and any events regarding whales has been circulating the web. And that for several weeks. Nothing has occured that seemed break-through, or anything... However this was an interesting story:

Lessons from a whale stranding :: ABC North Coast NSW:

"The death of a female pygmy sperm whale found bleeding from its reproductive organs and wounded by shark bites on a Byron Bay beach this week, was inevitable according to scientists.

The whale was still alive when it beached but died shortly after."

In the lack of any special interest on the web or in the news circulation... if anyone would like to submit to me something that they came accross that would be fabulous!!

I'll take stories about whales in my inbox. Or leave a comment with a link in it and a description and if I find it substantially suitable for feature in the blog I will certainly make a post about it!!

Looking for anything you find about whales and whale watching that it worth posting up in this blog!!

Let me know

Gary

5 Years, Baby Pilot Whale, RIP

New York Daily News - Boroughs - Whale washes up & dies:

"A baby pilot whale that washed ashore on Rockaway Beach died yesterday morning, despite rescuers' desperate efforts to save it.

The 5-year-old, 10-foot-long, 500-pound male whale was first spotted by locals sometime before 7 a.m. yesterday as it lay on the shore just off Beach 102nd St."

This is a sad story about an effort to save a young Pilot Whale that washed ashore, which nonetheless ended when the poor whale died.

Gary

Blowing Up/Exploding A Whale

Cape Argus - Police blow up stranded whale:

"Police today used explosives to kill the Southern Right whale stranded on Mnandi beach, angering many onlookers.

But Nan Rice of the Dolphin Action Group said it was a humane way to put the whale down.

The blast destroyed the top part of the whale's head, bloodying the water.

Robin Adams, deputy manager of the Table Mountain National Park marine area, said it was 'very sad'."

This was a very interesting article that I came accross. Reporting that in South Africa that the police there used explosives to 'humanly' put out a stranded whale in shallow waters there.

The full story about the whole event of stranding and all can be checked out through the link.

Gary Schmidt

A Slow Death For Right Whale No. 2425

Injured Right Whale dying off Cape Cod :: Cape Cod Today :: Cape Cod News and Information:

"A tuna spotter sighted a 'tired and battered' right whale off the northern tip of Cape Cod late last week. The whale was emaciated and lethargic, with skin that looked gray, rather than a healthy black, and a chunk was missing from its left tail fluke.

Researchers identified it as Right Whale No. 2425, the 11-year-old female that was struck by the propeller of a 43-foot yacht near Cumberland Island Georgia on March 10."

This poor whale, one of the most endangered species in the world, has been under a lot of pain and difficulty over the last week after being hit by a yacht.

It's just disheartening to hear news like this.

Did the yachters even see the whale, and were they going against the marine mammmal conservation guidelines, by not keeping their distance like they should have? I beet that most people are ignorant of the rergulations, and they should know them... not just the commercial whale watching companies!

Gary

Whale Rescue Takes On Extreme Sports

The Daily Telegraph | Whale wearing a fish net tight:

"WITH the massive power of a 7m humpback splashing about beneath their inflatable boat, whale rescuers turned their work into an extreme sport yesterday.

Wearing crash helmets, gloves and wetsuits, they struggled for nearly three hours to release the juvenile whale after it became tangled in a shark net."

Wouldn't that have been a blast! That must've been one experience being up close with the humpback whale and rescuing it.

Gary Schmidt

Another Amazing Story Of Success - But Better

Fort St. John - canada.com network: " A rare right whale who was orphaned as a baby has turned up in the Bay of Fundy with her own calf, thrilling scientists who see the mammal as a symbol of hope for the vanishing species."

This is great!

Another success story of another orphaned whale, that disappeared after her mother died being struck by a boat. Now this whale has been able to make it in with a group of whales and find the feeding grounds and also even find a mate!

There were a lot of odds going against this whale, but she's pulled through and carried on.

Gary Schmidt

An Expensive Dinner

miriyasterling: Having a bad day?!?:

"The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdez Oil spill in Alaska was $80,000.00. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were being released back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers.

A minute later, in full view,! a killer whale ate them both."

Ain't that great!

Just had to share it with you - a little humor.

Seals Gotta Swim, Whales Gotta Eat!

Gary

Update Dead Calf

Townsville Bulletin: Dead whale recovery 'to take days' [ 03aug05 ]: "MARINE authorities say it could take days to recover the body of a dead baby humpback whale and determine if it was killed by shark nets on Queensland's Gold Coast"

The last post about the task of trying to recover the dead humpback calf had not been completed due to the distressed mother protecting it. They hope that the calf's body will float to the surface within 3 days, and then will be able to recover it and examine it to determine what the cause of death was. Whether the calf died from being caught in the shark nets or any other means.

Gary

Aggressive Protection Of Dead Calf

Mother thwarts dead calf's retrieval: "A MOTHER whale in mourning for her dead calf has thwarted divers' attempts to retrieve the mammal's body in waters off the Gold Coast."

After the young calf (about 4 meters long) died after being caught in a shark net, its mother was aggressive towards the divers that tried to retrieve the calf.

Would give you second thoughts about wanting to really get too close to these creatures (stern warning).

Gary

You can't stop everything bad from happening

Federal officials to investigate reports of injured orca: "The National Marine Fisheries service said Thursday it will investigate reports of an orca injured in a collision with a whale-watching boat off San Juan Island last week."

Apparently the orca that was injured bumped into the boat... All the boats in the area were stopped.

From the article the whale watch tour company seems to have been part of Whale Watch Operators Association Northwest, which follows very strict whale watching guidelines.

Hopefully the damage isn't too serious and the whale heals quickly, as is mentioned in the article.

Gary