"LILLY" THE WHALE HAS DIED
In spite of the best efforts of marine biologists who removed tangled rope and netting from "Lilly," the grey whale died today. Apparently Lilly had become too sick and exhausted to rejoin her pod.
For more details, read the story from KTLA-TV News:
DANA POINT -- The whale that has been lingering around Dana Point Harbor since Monday has died.
The gray whale washed up on Doheny State Beach at about 4 p.m. on Friday, sources say.
A weakened "Lilly" the whale appeared to be laboring and clinging to life for the last few days.
The young, 35-to-40-foot female whale* first made its way inside the breakwater around noon Monday and stayed in the harbor area for three days, showing signs of distress.
Marine biologists, including a team from Sea World in San Diego, successfully removed about 150 pounds of fish net and rope from her tail Wednesday.
Once the net was removed, biologists said the whale's condition began to improve.
The whale, nicknamed "Free Lily," appeared to be heading back into the open ocean, early Wednesday afternoon.
Biologists were hopeful she would continue to migrate north, but she was spotted just outside the harbor breakwater in Dana Point Thursday morning.
The whale, estimated to weigh about 30 tons may have been close to death, experts say.
Members of the rescue team that cut away the entanglements Wednesday guessed the whale was a juvenile, 1 or 2 years old, and suggested some of the netting that was strung through her mouth may have prevented her from eating.
Even after the netting was removed, however, she still appeared thin and lethargic.
Mike Bursk, a marine biologist with the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, said he noticed the whale had an abnormally curved spine. He guessed the whale, whose back is also covered in barnacles, was at least 25 years old.
"It's got the worst curvature I've ever seen," he said. "It may be destined to die young."
An estimated 10,000 gray whales have been making their annual migration from the warm waters of Baja California, where they spend the winter, to their feeding grounds in Alaska and the Arctic.
"We don't expect to see northbound gray whales after the end of April," Tom Sullivan of the of the Ocean Institute. "This is a little late. This is a straggler."
Sullivan said whales who wander into the harbor are usually infants who lose their way. Whales in the harbor are a danger to boats, and boats are a danger to whales.
Copyright © 2010, KTLA-TV, Los Angeles
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*Initial news reports had indicated that based upon the number of barnacles attached to the whale’s body, that this was probably an older whale.
Also on the news...
SMALL QUAKE RATTLES VENTURA COUNTY
A 3.9 magnitude earthquake shook an area of Ventura County near Port Hueneme, and was felt by many in surrounding areas.
The quake struck at 8:19 p.m. Friday night, nine miles east-southeast of Port Hueneme at a depth of 11.1 miles underground, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
According to the USGS preliminary report, the quake rated a 3.9 magnitude. The earthquake was felt in parts of the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles and Malibu.
No damage has been reported from this minor shaker.
2 comments:
R.I.P. Lilly!
It is sad to see such a magnificent animal die at a young age. But Debbie, this is what life is all about. Creatures are born and creatures die. Take consolation on this: matter cannot be created nor can it be destroyed.
Lilly's "matter," the atoms that made her physical being will now be returned to the world at large, to join other atoms and create new life. Lilly is not dead; she has simply changed shape to rejoin the "great being."
Peace!
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