Gray Whale

As a chief boatswain's mate yelled one of the most unusual orders ever heard aboard ship--"Release the whale!"--the California gray whale named J.J. was lowered gently into calm seas Tuesday two miles off the San Diego coast. The 19,200-pound, 31-foot-long mammal--the largest ever kept in captivity--initially began swimming back to San Diego.

Target has apparently stubbed its toe on a touchstone of obesity sensitivity with the color label for one of its plus-size dresses - manatee gray. It's an odd choice of a color name, for sure, one that's also slapped on the discount retailer's towels, sheets and the like. It evokes images of mottled, darkish gray, not entirely lovely tones. And the manatee, though an engaging environmental symbol for its gentle ways and precarious future, isn't exactly a sex symbol. But the backlash provoked by an extra-large-size dress tagged with the color prompted Target to sweep the dress off its racks and issue an apology.

Though hunted to near extinction in the mid-1800s, the Pacific gray whale population has grown significantly, permitting its recent removal from the endangered species list. As their ancestors have done for thousands of years, today's gray whale population of 20,000 to 25,000 make the 11,000 mile round-trip journey from the frigid arctic seas to the warm waters of Baja's lagoons. The whales, traveling up to 100 miles a day, complete the trip in eight to 10 weeks.

The whale-watching boat was about to go back to the coast of Rancho Palos Verdes when the captain suddenly began heading the vessel farther out to sea. As the boat inched closer and closer to a pod of whales, passengers on board gathered to look on in amazement. This was not your ordinary whale-watching trip. Typically, gray whales travel by themselves. Sometimes, they will travel in groups of three. But on Sunday afternoon, researchers counted 23 - give or take a whale - in a single pod. The group was the largest that volunteers with the American Cetacean Society/Los Angeles Chapter Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project have seen in 30 years, said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, the director and coordinator of the group.

Gray whales have been turning up early and in record numbers as they migrate south along the Southern California coast heading to Baja, so don't let this be the season you miss the boat. Tony Barboza reports in this L.A. Times story : "Whale spotters stationed at Point Vicente in Rancho Palos Verdes have logged a record 163 sightings so far [in] December, more than they have seen at this point in 28 years. " Check out these whale-watching places to see the migration firsthand: Point Vicente Interpretive Center , 31501 Palos Verdes Drive West, Rancho Palos Verdes; (310)

Federal biologists here have reported the highest count of migrating gray whale calves in 11 years, an encouraging sign for a species that had appeared to be in decline recently. Conducting the annual March to June survey as the whales swim north, biologists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration counted 455 pairs of calves and mothers from a vantage point along the coast in northern San Luis Obispo County. The counts had been as low as 97 calves in 2000 and 87 in 2001.

It was looking pretty grim Wednesday for the gray whale floating listlessly in the shallow waters of Dana Point Harbor. Experts said the whale looked emaciated and old, and some observers worried that the roughly 35-foot, 30-ton creature's days were numbered. But as news choppers churned overhead and a growing number of spectators watched from shore, the distressed whale's fortunes appeared to change. It took about four hours for a team of marine animal rescue workers to remove the mesh rope knotted around the whale's head and tail, said Tim Sullivan of the Ocean Institute in Dana Point.

A young gray whale died after becoming wedged between pilings near Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, authorities said. West Coast grays are now making their annual migration from their winter breeding ground off Mexico to their summer feeding ground off Alaska. Marine mammal biologists estimated the whale was 25 to 30 feet long and weighed about 18,000 pounds.

A gray whale smashed into a 27-foot boat, damaging the vessel and injuring one person, the boat's owner said. The Bayliner was cruising off Leadbetter Beach shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday when the whale surfaced under the right bow and belly-flopped onto the boat, crushing the cabin, said owner Jerry Gormley.

The gray whale may soon be leaving the ranks of seven other species of whales on the federal endangered species list, government officials said Thursday. Howard Braham, director of the U.S. National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle, said recent census samples of the gray whale suggest that its population has recovered from the commercial whaling days of the 19th Century, when it was placed on the endangered species list.

SACRAMENTO - California officials said Friday that only one park will be closed come Sunday, revising plans announced a day earlier to cease operations at five parks. Providence Mountains State Recreation Area, in a remote part of San Bernardino County, has been shut down since earlier this year and will remain so. But the revised plan means four sites expected to close on Sunday - Benicia State Recreation Area, the California Mining and Mineral Museum, Gray Whale Cove State Beach and Zmudowski State Beach - will keep operating for the time being.

A California gray whale found tangled in a fishing net off the Orange County coast swam free after a lengthy rescue over the weekend. Whale-watching boats spotted the young cetacean stranded outside Dana Point Harbor with about 50 feet of netting and rope wrapped around its flukes, or tail. With permission from the National Marine Fisheries Services, Dave Anderson of Capt. Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari attached a buoy to the animal to monitor it overnight as a team of whale-watch crew members, wildlife rehabilitation staffers and boaters with specialized training and gear assembled for a weekend rescue attempt the next morning.

David W. Kenney, SeaWorld's first veterinarian, who played a key role in bringing the original Shamu to the San Diego amusement park as well as a gray whale believed to be the first raised by humans, died Feb. 14 in Montrose, Colo. He was 77. The cause was cancer, said his sister, Meredith Maler. Kenney was hired by the park a few weeks before its 1964 opening and over the next several years displayed an ingenuity and dedication that helped the fledgling tourist attraction build and maintain an impressive collection of marine animals.

Gray whales have been turning up early and in record numbers as they migrate south along the Southern California coast heading to Baja, so don't let this be the season you miss the boat. Tony Barboza reports in this L.A. Times story : "Whale spotters stationed at Point Vicente in Rancho Palos Verdes have logged a record 163 sightings so far [in] December, more than they have seen at this point in 28 years. " Check out these whale-watching places to see the migration firsthand: Point Vicente Interpretive Center , 31501 Palos Verdes Drive West, Rancho Palos Verdes; (310)

Leaving no stone unturned in her quest to protect the health of Californians, state Sen. Gloria Romero (D- Los Angeles) has introduced a bill to decertify the state rock, because it can cause cancer. To which we can only respond: California has an official rock? It turns out that it does. Most California school kids can tell you that the golden poppy is the state flower, but far fewer residents realize there are more than two dozen other state emblems and symbols ranging from the majestic (the California gray whale is the official marine mammal)

It was looking pretty grim Wednesday for the gray whale floating listlessly in the shallow waters of Dana Point Harbor. Experts said the whale looked emaciated and old, and some observers worried that the roughly 35-foot, 30-ton creature's days were numbered. But as news choppers churned overhead and a growing number of spectators watched from shore, the distressed whale's fortunes appeared to change. It took about four hours for a team of marine animal rescue workers to remove the mesh rope knotted around the whale's head and tail, said Tim Sullivan of the Ocean Institute in Dana Point.

A lethargic, emaciated gray whale that had wandered into Dana Point Harbor made its way back to deep water late Tuesday to the relief of boaters and marine biologists. The whale, about 35 to 40 feet long and estimated to weigh about 30 tons, was spotted in the harbor just before noon Monday. The whale briefly navigated its way out of the harbor Tuesday before circling back into port and then heading out to sea again. The Harbor Patrol tried to startle it back out to sea with noisy boat maneuvers.

Blanca Wilterdink was on her regular walk Friday along the Marina del Rey channel when a stranger stopped and asked if she had heard about the whale. "A what? A whale?" Wilterdink asked. "I thought, 'This lady must be mistaken.' " She looked to the water and called her husband, who raced over on his bike with a pair of binoculars. Sure enough, there was a 20-foot-long gray whale swimming playfully around the Marina del Rey breakwater. "It was such a beauty," she said.