HACKED BY CYBER-ATTACK - ALPERENBTN

[kyle]

supposedly its illegal to approach within 500 yards of them
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save our beach

[SurfRanger95]

The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 makes it illegal to interact with marine mammals in any way. Includes feeding them and even diving amongst them. Best advise is to stay clear and enjoy them from a bit of a distance. Pretty cool though.
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"I don't wanna live on that kind of island, no I don't wanna swim in a roped off sea. It's too much for me, too much for me; I gotta be where the wind and the water are free." -- Jimmy Buffet

"GUINESS IS GOOD FOR YOU!"

[Johnny French]

Caller.com

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URL: http://www.caller.com/ccct/local_news/article/0,1641,CCCT_811_4393610,00.html

Contributed photo

The massive head of the mother Northern Right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) juts above the water in the vicinity of Naval Station Ingleside. On her head are lumpy growths called callosities.

Two rare whales spotted in ship channel
Mother and her calf were seen heading back toward the Gulf

By Beth Wilson Caller-Times
January 17, 2006


Corpus Christi Bay had a visit from an unusual pair of winter Texans on Monday with the sighting of an endangered Northern Right whale and her calf.

"It's an absolute mystery how they got here," said Tony Amos, director of ARK and a research fellow at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas.

Amos said he got a call from a tanker pilot who thought he had hit one of the whales. Amos and some others from the institute first went out at 11 a.m. Monday to investigate.

"The first time we were halfway across Corpus Christi Bay, heading up the ship channel and we found the two," he said. The mother looked about 40 feet to 50 feet long and about 60 tons. The calf, about 15 to 20 feet long, had two cuts on its back, he said.

Amos said he took photos and returned to shore to contact the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which has a group that deals with endangered whales.

On his second trip out, Amos said, the whales had moved several miles closer to sea, and were seen near Naval Station Ingleside. He said it appeared the calf was suckling as the two were swimming in circles.

Northern Right whales seek warmer waters in winter off the coasts of Georgia and Florida. They've been an endangered species since 1973 and their population in the Atlantic is about 300. They got their name because they were a popular target of whalers and floated when they were dead, making retrieval easier, and therefore making them the "right" whales to go after, according to information from NOAA.

"It was incredible," Amos said of the whale sighting. "First, when we went out we were skeptical. It's a real thrill, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see such a rare animal. But also we felt some concern because they shouldn't be where they are."

Amos said the U.S. Coast Guard will set up a safe zone, and sent a notice to members of the shipping industry to be on the lookout for these whales and avoid contact.

A Coast Guard spokeswoman said the first report came to them about 3 p.m. and a crew went out to see if the whales were injured.

"We're asking the maritime public to use precaution as they transit Corpus Christi Bay or any of the surrounding areas so they don't cause injury," she said.

Amos said he would continue to monitor the whales, and hopes they head out to sea.

Contact Beth Wilson at 886-3748 or HYPERLINK mailto:wilsonb@caller.com wilsonb@caller.com