With a roll and a splash, J.J. the gray whale made herself right at home in the Pacific Ocean last Tuesday. But just getting there was quite a journey.
J.J. was rescued last year as a beached newborn and taken to Sea World in San Diego. The starving whale weighed only 1,670 pounds (not much for a whale), and rescuers weren’t sure she would survive even a day. But she thrived, gaining more than 50 pounds daily on a special formula that included ground herring and whipping cream.
The rescuers’ goal was to return J.J. to the ocean. To get her ready, they played gray-whale recordings for her and added kelp, two sea lions and a dolphin to her pool. Finally, at a whopping, healthy 19,000 pounds, she was ready to go. So last week her keepers transported J.J. by truck to a Coast Guard vessel, which then released her into the ocean. Once J.J. hit the water, she was gone in a flash.
“She’s the biggest live animal ever lifted, transported, rehabilitated or released,” said James Sumich, a biology professor who studied the whale.
Soon after her release, scientists picked up radio signals showing J.J. was alive and well, swimming along the coast. Her release was timed so she could join other gray whales migrating to the Alaska coast. Scientists hope to catch her on film with the help of trained sea lions equipped with video cameras.
“It’s kind of like a parent when you send your kid off to college,” said Kevin Robinson, one of J.J.’s caretakers. “And you know what? I’m really proud of how I raised my kid. She’s ready to take on the world. Go do it.”
