Yurok Tribe tries to help stranded gray whale get back to ocean

Thursday, July 28, 2011  

The Yurok Tribe of California is trying to help a 45-foot-long gray whale that has been stuck in the Klamath River for four weeks back to the ocean.

But the whale won't budge even after her calf returned to the ocean. She's doing fine but the tribe, along with government and university scientists, are closely monitoring the situation.

"Things in our world don't happen without a reason, without a purpose,” Chairman Thomas O'Rourke told The Eureka Times-Standard. “The whales coming here, they carry a message, and they will stay here until the message is received, whatever that may be.”

The whale is currently in a part of the river that runs through the reservation. The tribe is making plans to adjust its commercial salmon fishery in case she tries to leave when lots of fishermen are around.

Get the Story:
Scientists currently in wait-and-see mode; killer whale sounds, other ploys fail to drive gray whale to ocean (The Eureka Times-Standard 7/28)
Gray Whale Mother Draws Local Attention, Concerns (KTVU 7/28)