New drone video shot near Malibu on Tuesday, April 20, showed an entangled gray baby whale – first spotted a day earlier off San Clemente – still wrapped in fishing line as it made its way up the coast.
Based on the footage shot on Tuesday from the sand at Point Dume by Phil Kreis, who was out searching for whales to document with his drone, it appears the line is stuck in the whale’s mouth with a buoy dragging about 20 feet behind the calf, who is staying close to its mom.
Rescue teams have reached out to whale watching charters and other partners to keep an eye out for the calf with hopes that someone can save the young whale before it’s too late.
“Calf is moving pretty well and doesn’t seem too distressed and the current body condition looks pretty good. The entanglement does appear to be in the mouth so not sure how that will be affecting the calf’s ability to feed,” NOAA West Coast Stranding Coordinator Justin Viezbicke said in an email update. “Can’t be helping.”
When the mom and calf were first spotted off San Clemente Pier on Monday by Capt. Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Safari, a rescue team from NOAA and the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach was dispatched to try to remove the line.
It was tough, with the mom protecting its baby and making it challenging for the team to get close enough to help.
As the sun went down, the team had to call off the attempt after only removing part of the fishing gear, which includes a buoy dragging behind the whale’s tail.
Kreis said he was just about to leave the beach Tuesday when a friend said there was a calf just offshore. It was only when he zoomed in on his screen that he saw the calf wrapped in line.
“They were moving pretty good – the good news is they had a good rate of speed,” he said. “I feel so sad… I just really hope they can save this whale.”
Vessels from the National Park Service, Tow Boat US, Condor Express and Island Packers are all keeping an eye out Wednesday between Ventura and Santa Barbara, Viezbicke said.
The whales were averaging about 4 miles per hour Tuesday evening.
“They are moving fast but we’ve got teams all up the coast so hoping we can get more eyes on them and get another opportunity” to remove the fishing gear, he said.
Gray whales are making their annual migration from warm-water lagoons, where many babies are born, back to feeding grounds in Alaska. The migration is the longest of any mammal on Earth.
Boaters are asked to keep an eye out for the entangled baby whale, and to stay with the whale if it’s safe to do so. But officials also warned distressed whales may act unpredictably, so do not approach too closely.
Never attempt to free an entangled animal or to remove gear without training and authorization. Report entanglements to 877-SOS-WHAL or 877-767-9425, or contact the U.S. Coast Guard at VHF Ch. 16.
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