Marine mammal rescue teams have urged boaters in waters off Orange County and San Diego counties to be alert for an entangled juvenile humpback whale that appears to still be swimming swiftly, but is not well.
“It has barnacles and lice all over it,” said Justin Greenman, assistant stranding coordinator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Those form when they are not diving deeply. It’s moving quickly, but is not in good health.”
The whale was first spotted on Saturday, July 13, off Redondo Beach, Greenman said. Then, later that day, off Rancho Palos Verdes.
The whale appears to have a rope wrapped around its tail, and a line has been seen – spotted in drone footage – moving on top of and under one fluke. The whale is trailing a buoy or float about 10 feet behind it and appears to be using mainly its flippers to propel itself.
Mauricio Tassara, a drone photographer from Torrance, was first alerted to the whale and its troubles by Chris Batts, a boat captain for Harbor Breeze Whale Watching Tours in Long Beach.
Tassara, who was on land, launched his drone and found the whale about 100 yards in front of the boat’s bow.
“It was kinda just cruising, not really moving fast,” he said, adding that his batteries ran out and he had to return the drone to land. Once he got it going again, he couldn’t find the whale because of the glare from the ocean, but then he suddenly saw it breach.
“It jumped 20 to 30 times,” he said, adding the footage was extra exciting because it was his first-ever humpback. “It was chin-slapping and stuck it’s pectoral fin up and splashed the water. It was bittersweet because it was entangled. The rope was wrapped around its tail and the right side (fluke) was kind of flopping down. But it kept jumping and doing its thing.”
On Sunday, July 14, Mark Girardeau, a local wildlife photographer on a vessel with Newport Coastal Adventure, said he spotted a whale off Crystal Cove State Park and noticed it was behaving oddly. He sent his drone up to see and also saw a rope wrapped around the animal’s tail
“I also noticed its fluke was not working great as the right fluke was completely limp and dangling; the whale was swimming using its pectoral flippers instead, which is not normal,” he said.
He last saw it off North Laguna Beach and sent the footage to rescue teams.
Capt. Steve Burkhalter with Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching saw the whale on Monday, July 15, about four miles off Salt Creek Beach. He reported it to NOAA, but teams were unable to reach the whale.
On Tuesday, July 16, Burkhalter continued to look for it and, this time, saw it about a mile south of where it was the day before.
“I saw a whale spout, but with the light, I wasn’t certain it was the same animal,” he said. “It was confirmed later.”
He said when he left the whale, two other charters were out there with the animal.
“The last report was there were some jet skiers who were driving aggressively and it wasn’t seen again,” he said.
Unlike gray whales, which typically migrate north and south, the humpback is not certain to continue south, though boats off San Diego County are on alert. It could circle back.
“We are on humpback watch,” said Donna Kalez, who operates the Dana Wharf charter.
If you see the struggling whale, do not approach or try to disentangle the lines. Officials ask that you stay with the whale, take photos, document it, and immediately call NOAA’s Entangled Whale Hotline 877-SOS-WHALE or hail USCG on CH 16.
