Posted on Thu, Apr. 14, 2005

By Kaitlin Gurney and Joel Bewley

Inquirer Staff Writers

It looks as if he's Canadian.

Researchers from Quebec believe the 12-foot beluga whale that has lost his way on the Delaware River is one of their own, a male named Helis.

Identifiable by a large gash on his back near his dorsal ridge, the snow-white Helis (pronounced ell-EE) was first spotted in 1986 among belugas that make their home near the St. Lawrence River, Quebec's Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals said yesterday. The Canadian government even gave him a number: DL 018.

The whale swam back and forth on the Delaware yesterday, thwarting marine-mammal monitors who trailed behind him in motorboats, trying to will the whale to swim back out to sea. He drew crowds of delighted schoolchildren and businesspeople at riverfront parks from Beverly in Burlington County to north of Tullytown in Bucks County.

First reported to authorities Tuesday near Trenton, he is the first beluga to swim up the Delaware, according to records maintained by the Academy of Natural Sciences. One was seen in the ocean off Cape May in 1978.

Beluga experts say the whale, which appears to be in good health despite being 1,200 miles from home, may be enjoying meals of whole shad, which swim upstream this time of year.

"He's way out of range, so that's abnormal - but it doesn't mean there's anything wrong physically or mentally with the animal," said Larry Dunn, a beluga specialist with Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. "If he's robust and fat and happy, there are fewer concerns."

Dunn said he planned to travel to Philadelphia this week to examine the beluga at the request of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is in charge of the whale's fate.

Although normal territory for belugas ranges from the Arctic Circle to the St. Lawrence, the Delaware's 48-degree fresh water shouldn't cause the whale too many problems, Dunn said. The temperature in the St. Lawrence was about 36 degrees yesterday.

"It's not like it's Florida," Dunn said.

If the whale's meandering path yesterday was any indication, he could stay in the region for weeks. Experts said they would not act to move the animal unless he became a danger to himself or humans.

There are two techniques to move a beluga, which can weigh as much as 3,300 pounds and swims only 2 to 6 m.p.h.: capturing it, or "harassing" it so it swims in the right direction.

"That's not something we want to do, so let's hope it doesn't come to that," said Terri Frady, a spokeswoman for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Both those options have a high probability of a bad outcome - both for the whale and the people involved. Ideally, we want to let these things run their natural course."

The beluga is not the first to swim dramatically off course. Although most are sociable creatures and swim in pods or groups, researchers said they spotted one or two solitary belugas a year, most often young whales that attach themselves instead to humans.

An inquisitive young beluga named Poco - for his first sighting in Pocologan, New Brunswick - swam back and forth between Boston Harbor and Portland, Maine, last summer, frolicking with divers and swimming alongside boats. Poco was found dead in November, most likely of infectious disease.

"Belugas like Poco have caused NOAA a lot of heart-searching because we have this 'wild animal' harassing humans - the total reverse of what we expect," said Michael Moore, a whale researcher at the the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. He said Poco had paid him a friendly visit when the researcher was catching flounder for a project last summer. "These sightings are rare, but sooner or later they become less unusual. It seems there is some behavioral trait causing these animals... to go walkabout."

Canadian whale researcher Cathy Kinsman, who has chronicled the travels of lone belugas on her Web site, http://www.whalestewardship.org, said it was important for people and boats to stay clear of Helis or else he, too, may develop a fondness for humans.

"If people take up a beluga's invitation to get close, we can modify the whale's behavior. The whale will make closer and closer attachments, and we can't discount the risk to the whales and humans," she said.

This whale appears to be concentrated on eating - a beluga consumes about 60 pounds of seafood a day - not interacting with people, Frady said.

"He doesn't seem to be quite as sociable as some," she said. "But all belugas are attracted to things in the water - buoys, motors, people - and we don't know why."

Indeed, when Helis gave his monitors the slip yesterday around 12:30 p.m., it was because a large tugboat pulling a barge had passed as he swam north near the Burlington-Bristol Bridge. A crowd of about 200 had gathered on the Burlington City waterfront, laying bets about whether the whale would veer left or right around Burlington Island.

They never found out. The whale surfaced about 2 p.m. near the bridge connecting the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Turnpikes, and by 4 p.m. had reached Fieldsboro - almost his exact position at that time Tuesday as well.

Some amateur whale-watchers were concerned about the the beluga's wanderings.

"If it doesn't turn back around and stay that way, it's never going to get home," said Jesse Estlow, a maintenance worker for the Burlington County Bridge Commission, as he watched the whale swim upriver.

But for students from St. Mary's Hall-Doane Academy in Burlington City, the beluga sighting brought nothing but joy. Dozens of prekindergartners and kindergartners who are studying the ocean were let out of class early to watch the whale.

Kindergarten teacher Peggy Majane seemed more excited than the kids, jumping up and down whenever the rounded back broke through the water.

"It's just super that we have been able to see a whale in the Delaware River, of all places," she said.
Contact staff writer Kaitlin Gurney at 609-989-7373 or kgurney@phillynews.com.

Wayward Whales

Humphrey,the humpback whale who swam up and down the Sacramento River in California during the fall of 1985, is one of the more famous wayward whales. For three weeks he captivated the nation with his antics and inspired writers of children's books. Eventually scientists lured him back to San Francisco Bay and out to the Pacific Ocean using recordings of humpback whales feeding.

Luna, a 5-year-old orca separated from his pod, has been swimming alone off Vancouver Island since July 2001. The Canadian government has been at odds with Indian tribes over whether to capture Luna (also called Tsu-xiit) and try to reunite him with his pod. He seeks attention from people, has been injured, and has disabled boats.

Poco, a young beluga, was spotted off New Brunswick during the fall of 2003. He was often found swimming around fishermen and divers in the Bay of Fundy. In May, he was spotted in Boston Harbor, off Cape Cod, and in Bar Harbor, Maine. Poco's remains were found in South Portland, Maine, in November. He apparently died of natural causes.

Inland,a young humpback, was sighted in harbors between Boston and Gloucester, Mass., throughout the fall of 2000. She was found dead off Virginia Beach, Va., tangled in a fishing net in April 2001.

Sluice,an adolescent humpback, chased herring through the sluice gates of the Annapolis Tidal Power Plant in Nova Scotia and became trapped in August. The power-generating dam had to shut down. Sluice became a major tourist attraction and found his way free after about two weeks.

Springer,an abandoned and sick young orca, was captured in Seattle and nursed to health before being reunited with her pod in Canada in 2002. A year later, the whale was seen swimming with her family.

Australia's Sydney Harbor has attracted a number of wayward southern right whales: Glenys and her calf, Dennis, in 1993; Alex in August 1999; and Cheryland Gareth in 2002. Australia is also home to Migaloo,a rare albino humpback whale.
SOURCES: New Zealand Herald; Nova Scotia Power; Pacific Whale Foundation; Points East magazine; Reuters; Seattle Post-Intelligencer; Whale Center of New England
More Beluga Facts

* Belugas can stay under water for 15 minutes.
* They eat up to 60 pounds of seafood - whole - a day.
* They use their 34 teeth to catch prey, not to chew.
* They generally swim 2 to 6 m.p.h. but can reach 14 m.p.h. in short bursts.
* They can live 30 years.
* Beluga comes from the Russian word for white.

Beluga experts say the whale, which appears to be in good health despite being 1,200 miles from home, may be enjoying meals of whole shad, which swim upstream this time of year.

"There are two techniques to move a beluga, which can weigh as much as 3,300 pounds and swims only 2 to 6 m.p.h.: capturing it, or "harassing" it so it swims in the right direction.

Whale-Dolphin Hybrid Has Baby Wholphin

1 hour, 44 minutes ago Science - AP


By JEANNETTE J. LEE, Associated Press Writer

HONOLULU - The only whale-dolphin mix in captivity has given birth to a playful female calf, officials at Sea Life Park Hawaii said Thursday.



The calf was born on Dec. 23 to Kekaimalu, a mix of a false killer whale and an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Park officials said they waited to announce the birth until now because of recent changes in ownership and operations at the park.


The young as-yet unnamed wholphin is one-fourth false killer whale and three-fourths Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Her slick skin is an even blend of a dolphin's light gray and the black coloring of a false killer whale.


The calf still depends fully on her mother's milk, but sometimes snatches frozen capelin from the hands of trainers, then toys with the sardine-like fish.


She is jumbo-sized compared to purebred dolphins, and is already the size of a one-year-old bottlenose.


"Mother and calf are doing very well," said Dr. Renato Lenzi, general manager of Sea Life Park by Dolphin Discovery. "We are monitoring them very closely to ensure the best care for them."


Although false killer whales and Atlantic bottlenose dolphins are different species, they are classified within the same family by scientists.


"They are not that far apart in terms of taxonomy," said Louis Herman, a leading expert in the study of marine mammals.


There have been reports of wholphins in the wild, he said.


Kekaimalu, whose name means "from the peaceful ocean," was born 19 years ago after a surprise coupling between a 14-foot, 2,000-pound false killer whale and a 6-foot, 400-pound dolphin. The animals were the leads in the park's popular tourist water show, featured in the Adam Sandler movie "50 First Dates."


Kekaimalu has given birth to two other calves. One lived for nine years and the other, born when Kekaimalu was very young, died a few days after birth.


Park researchers suspect the wholphin's father is an 8-foot long Atlantic bottlenose dolphin named Mikioi.


"He seems to be totally oblivious to this happening," Lenzi said.


False killer whales do not closely resemble killer whales. They grow to 20 feet, weigh up to two tons and have a tapering, rounded snout that overhangs their toothed jaw.


Atlantic bottlenose dolphins reach a maximum size of 12 feet and can weigh up to 700 pounds.


Sea Life Park officials said they hope to decide on a name for the baby wholphin soon and move her to a large display tank in a few months.

That's a voyage that's gonna take a while if you swim that damn slow.

I thought this was going to be about the whale/dolphin "hybrid" born...

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u ... phin_birth