A Whale Named “JJ”

By Peter Wallerstein, founder and
director of the Whale Rescue Team

I wrote most of this story within days of this rescue when all the details of it were fresh in my memory. In the beginning of the story the whale is called Marina. This was the name the rescuers named her before she was named JJ.

      On Friday morning, January 10, 1997 at about 8:30 a.m., I received a call from Lieutenant Morrow of the Los Angeles County Fire Department-Lifeguards. The lieutenant and I had worked together in the past. He was calling this time about a baby California gray whale beached in Marina Del Rey, California. The lieutenant informed me that lifeguards were standing by on the scene. I told him my estimated time of arrival to the scene was 30-45 minutes.
      I arrived on scene to see a small whale in the surf line. The lifeguards informed me that the whale had already beached once. They assisted the whale back out into the surf. The small whale was swimming erratically. It was obvious to me she was confused and upset. No wonder: three days old and already without a mother she must depend on emotionally and physically for many months. Without that food and nurturing, she would surely die within days.
       If possible, my first choice is always to return the animal to the wild before stressing it out during rescue, transportation, and rehabilitation. My first thoughts were, Who knows when the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will arrive? I called them on my way to the scene, but you never know. Inadequate communications have been a serious problem with the stranding network for many years, and some decisions must be made immediately.
      We began by looking for the whale's mother. Once the baby whale beached herself again, the county lifeguards and I tried to stabilize her but we had too much difficulty and we also didn't know when the NMFS, those in charge of the stranding network, would arrive. So we made the decision to push her back to deeper water. This was better than allowing her to roll on the beach, getting her blowhole buried in the sand, and waiting until who knows when to rescue her. We couldn't stand by and not do something. So out to sea she went. But it was just the beginning of a long ordeal.
       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. I was there at least an hour or so when John, a representative from the county museum, arrived. His first comments were, when he heard the whale had been beached, that we should have left her. He didn't see the young whale being pounded by the waves and buried in the sand.
       The museum is called when a whale is dead on the beach. Over the years, I've seen a strange gleam in their eyes in situations like this. The museum is part of the marine stranding network. I've assisted with and done stranding rescues on my own for almost 15 years. I have more experience than most, and after many years of NMFS threats of prosecutions, in 1993, I received authorization to rescue sea lions and other animals from gill nets along the coast.
       In the 1980s, most of Whale Rescue Team's (WRT) rescues have been 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.

      This whale looked quite strong at times, swimming further off the beach. I decided to take the WRT boat out to meet the Bay Watch boat and monitor the young whale from the ocean. So I proceeded to launch the boat and headed out to Marina Del Rey channel. 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. Don and I had met in the past when I was delivering injured sea lions to the now shut down Marineland. He used to capture marine mammals for aquariums.
      For a couple of hours John and Don cruised in the WRT boat while Shelley in the Bay Watch boat looked for mom. Shelley and I launched air reconnaissance of the area using a Coast Guard helicopter and Marika Tur was in News Copter 2. We had fishing boats, whale watch boats, the Baykeeper and others, searching a seven-mile area for any signs of mom or other whales. If left in the wild without adult whales, the baby would surely die, especially because Sea World had then refused to send aid.
      After a couple of hours, John went to shore, and Don stayed for another hour. He looked confused and put out, and after a short time wanted off. He left, never to return. We continued the search for any signs of the mother. Hours of searching went by and knowing the consequences of failing made it more critical and intense. There were times when I was on the WRT boat keeping other boats clear of the baby I now called Marina (aka JJ). Marina would come up to embrace and caress the boat, reaching out for contact, food and nurturing. I felt so helpless. This was a tough one. Marina would swim away and come back. She nuzzled the rocks on the breakwater, looking for something familiar in her short life.
      When John and Don were on board the WRT boat it was obvious they knew Sea World would not want Marina. In fact, the idea was coldly turned down. Sea World refused to send a rescue truck or any help whatsoever. I think that's why Don looked so confused… he knew Sea World didn't want the baby whale and his facility couldn't handle it. Word from NMFS was "hands off." But not for the benefit of the whale. I believed they we're hoping Marina would die — as they have let dozens do year after year. The story and the responsibility would be over and they'd have another specimen to dissect.
       Sea World never showed up at the rescue. Sea World doesn't want to take in anything it can't potentially keep for display and exploitation. Gray whales get too big to keep in captivity, and Sea World was very aware of this. It just spent 10 million dollars on a tank for captive Orca whales; it didn't want a stranded gray whale in it.
     Calls were made to the media and the story continued to grow every hour. Sea World had to cave in. Personally it felt good to force Sea World to do something it didn't want to do. I'll put my differences aside and work with it to ensure the best chance possible for Marina or any sick or injured marine mammal.
     The massive effort for a potential reunion continued. Getting close to sundown, Terry, who calls himself NMFS's number-one man for stranding response, showed up 8 hours late. A year or so ago, when lifeguards and I stabilized a stranded dolphin, it took him 3-4 hours to respond. I knew from the start he was over his head in this one. NMFS put this on his shoulders and that wasn't fair to the rescue effort. National Marine Fisheries Service head office for the Southwest Region is less than one hour away. No one ever showed up.

continued on next page

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