By Christina Bravo / NBC7 / May 22, 2024
A gray whale who has been spotted frequenting San Diego’s Mission Bay in recent months was last seen in the inlet on Sunday. And, despite what some concerned San Diegans might think, the whale is not there by accident.
Jeni Smith, curator of SeaWorld San Diego’s rescue program, said their team and specialists with NOAA have been monitoring the whale since March and have not seen any signs of distress. The whale, which may or may not be the same one every time, comes and goes through the 820-foot-wide channel entrance as it pleases.
“As far as we can tell, it’s not injured. It doesn’t look sick. It looks like it has good body condition. We don’t see any apparent injuries,” Smith said. “And, so there really is no concern for us and no concern on NOAA’s part as well.”
Smith said they don’t exactly know why the whale is traveling in and out of the channel but notes that they’ve noticed it stays in the area — which is actually just yards from the sealife theme park — for a few days before swimming back out to the larger ocean.
Understandably, it’s alarming for San Diegans to see a gray whale — which can grow up to 49 feet long and 9,000 pounds — in the shallow inlet that has a maximum depth of about 20 feet, which has prompted calls SeaWorld’s rescue hotline. Smith said that is exactly the right thing to do and has used the opportunity to her advantage.
“The very first call I got about it, [the whale] was closer to Fiesta Island and the caller was actually trying to get in the water with it. So it was a great learning opportunity and teaching moment for me to talk to that caller and let them know that to appreciate from a distance,” Smith said.
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