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Extraordinary efforts save stranded whale
Story by Sharon Kivisto
Photos by Kelley Balcomb-Bartok ©
Representatives of the State Fish & Wildlife Service aboard an Olympic Coast Marine Sanctuary vessel tow the male past the entrance to Dungeness Spit and back safely into deeper water.
posted 01/06/02
Wet blankets, zinc oxide and determined whale researchers saved a male orca stranded in Dungeness Spit last week. A dead female orca was found in the same area. The whales were not members of the three resident pods which are frequently seen around the San Juans.
Kelley Balcomb-Bartok, a Friday Harbor whale expert, heard about the stranding around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2002. Realizing he couldn't get to the scene before nightfall if he took the ferry, he called King 5 News. They picked him up with a helicopter and took him to the beach near Sequim. Having the aerial perspective came in handy in helping the people on the ground locate the two whales.
The rescue effort for the male orca involved researchers, state wildlife personnel, and volunteers. The whale was fully out of the water both nights. Wet blankets were placed on top of the marine mammal. Zinc oxide was used to lubricate the blow hole and dorsal fin. On Thursday five attempts to move the whale out of the shallow spit and into the open water were unsuccessful. The whale managed to roll out of the sling placed around him. One attempt used an oyster barge with a crane. "He just about pulled the crane over," said Balcomb-Bartok. Despite appearing lethargic, the whale was very strong he said.
The whale beached himself again Thursday night and spent another six to seven hours out of the water. His breathing was labored and his pectoral fin was becoming crushed by the weight. The rescuers worked in shifts and poured buckets of water over the whale throughout the night.
Measurements were taken. A local hospital tested blood drawn from the whale. The tests showed the animal was healthy but dehydrated. He had low levels of proteins. Balcomb-Bartok speculated the whales were related and that the younger male was in mourning and that explained his behaviour.
On Friday, the sixth attempt to lead the whale out to open water was successful. The rescuers retied the ropes and placed buoys on the whale's tail which seemed to calm him down. State fisheries enforcement officers using a depth sounder led the way in the first boat. Two miles out, the crews pulled the rope. "The farther out we got, he became a little shyer and more of a whale," said Balcomb-Bartok. "He literally swam off into the sunset."
A time/depth recorder (TDR) was placed on the whale during the rescue effort. The device stays on the whale for up to 100 hours. Saturday, Jen Schorr, of Marine Research Consultants, determined the whale had most likely left the strait since the signals from the transmitter could no longer be picked up. Attempts will be made to locate the bright yellow TDR using its transmitter. Once it is located, the information will be downloaded onto a computer and analyzed.
Jennifer Schorr, of Marine Research Consultants, pours buckets of water over the back of the extremely high and dry whale during the middle of the night at a minus low tide.
Representatives of the Keiko project, Vancouver Aquarium, and Olympic Coast Marine Sanctuary give the "thumbs up" for the final attempt at towing the male orca to freedom. The device on the animals back, known as a "TDR" (time-depth-recorder) is held in place by a suction cup, allowing biologists to later determine the animal's breathing patterns.
The unidentified transient male swimming free in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The animal continued to head west into the sunset, while the rope visible on his back is believed to be merely pinched by his pectoral fins and is expected to eventually fall away.
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