![]() ![]() If left in the wild without adult whales the baby would surely die, especially because Sea World refused to send aid. and others searching a seven-mile area for any signs of mom or other whales. We had fishing boats, whale watch boats, Terry T. ![]() Shelley and I launched air reconnaissance of the area using a Coast Guard helicopter and Marika Tur was in News Copter 2. For a couple of hours WHALE RESCUE TEAM’s boat, Terry Tamminen on the Baykeeper vessel and Shelley in the BAY WATCH boat looked for mom. I put all differences aside because we had a confused weak baby whale looking for its mom that needed our help and time was running out. He used to capture marine mammals for aquariums. Don and I had met in the past when I was delivering injured sea lions to the now shut down Marineland. #Baby whale mac#On the way I picked up Don, a representative from the Marine Mammal Care Center at Fort Mac Arthur, which is also part of the stranding network. So I proceeded to launch the boat and headed out to Marina Del Rey channel. I decided to take the Whale Rescue Team’s boat out to meet the Bay Watch boat and monitor the young whale from the ocean. This whale looked quite strong at times swimming further off the beach. In the 1980s most of WHALE RESCUE TEAM’s rescues were specialized ocean rescues, mother and baby whales entangled in fishing nets, whales with buoys coming out one end of their mouths, trailing many yards of rope with a lobster or crab pot at the end. I was there at least an hour or so when John, a representative from the county museum arrived. We stood by and monitored the young whale from shore while Shelley in the Bay Watch boat cruised off shore in case we needed him. This was just the beginning of a long ordeal. This was better than it rolling on the beach, getting its blowhole buried in the sand waiting until who knows when. So we made the decision to push it back to deeper water. ![]() We had to start looking for its mother! Once the whale beached itself again the county lifeguards and I tried to stabilize it but we had too much difficulty and also we didn’t know when the NMFS, those in care of the stranding network, would arrive. For many years inadequate communications has been a serious problem with the stranding network in our area. If possible, the first choice is always return the animal to the wild before we have to stress it out during the rescue, transportation, and rehabilitation. The whale will nurse for months and without that food and nurturing will surely die within days. No wonder, three days old and already without a mother it must depend on emotionally and physically for many months. It was obvious to me it was confused and upset. The small whale was swimming erratically. ![]() They assisted the whale back out into the surf. The lifeguards informed me that the whale had already beached once. I arrived on scene to see a small whale in the surf line. I told him my estimated time of arrival to the scene was about 30 minutes. The lieutenant informed me that lifeguards were standing by on the scene. He was calling this time about a baby California gray whale beached in Marina Del Rey, California. The lieutenant and I had worked together in the past. N Friday morning, Januat about 8:30 AM the Whale Rescue Team received a call from Lieutenant Morrow of the Los Angeles County Fire Department-Lifeguards. This was the name the rescuers named her before she was named J.J. In the beginning of the story the whale is called Marina. ![]()
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