Whale spotted on the Delaware River

“I was watching the news this morning and they said a whale was spotted on the Delaware River near Trenton, N.J. Anyone get to see it?”

“I remember a few years back when there was a whale in the Philadelphia Harbor, but all the way up by Trenton!!!??? Holy moly. Hopefully the whale will be ok.”

“I think I heard them say it can't stay in the river too long without ill effects. Maybe there's no food in a river for a whale or perhaps they need salt water or something.”

“That is cool. You should post a link if you find any articles on it.”

“Definately the salinity of the water.”

“A beluga whale, whose habitat usually is closer to the Arctic than South Jersey, has found its way into the Delaware River.
The largely white whale -- believed to be 10 to 12 feet in length -- was spotted Tuesday afternoon in the Delaware near the "Trenton Makes The World Takes" bridge and the New Jersey Statehouse.
At sunset, it was still in the vicinity of the Trenton Thunder baseball stadium, said Sgt. Wayne Kruger of the New Jersey State Marine Police station in Burlington.
"It is swimming back and forth" in 18- to 20-foot-deep water, occasionally surfacing for air, Kruger said.
The whale is at least 40 miles from salt water.
That may place the whale in danger, said David Schofield, manager of ocean health programs for the National Aquarium in Baltimore.
"Beluga whales can be exposed to fresh water for short periods of time," Schofield explained. "They occasionally swim into areas where there may be some fresh water."
Fresh water, in general, is "not good for cetacean skin," Schofield said. Whales, dolphins and porpoises are cetaceans.
"Over long periods of time, fresh water will impact a whale's skin."
The "routine movement" of a whale is between 30 and 60 miles per day.
"It can swim to bursts of 15 to 25 mph," Schofield said.
The whale would not only have to navigate through ship traffic on the Delaware in the Camden-Philadelphia but past the curious in boats.
"There are a lot of people harassing the animal with their boats in the water," said Jay Pagel, senior field technician for the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine.
"Curiosity levels are high," Kruger said. "It's not everyday when you see a white beluga whale in the Delaware."
The Coast Guard broadcast alerts Tuesday advising boat pilots and captains of the presence of a whale in the Delaware.
Schofield noted that whales are a federally protected species.
"There is a $25,000 fine if you are caught harassing the animal," he said. Boaters are supposed to stay a minimum of 50 yards from a whale, according to Schofield.
Whales rarely make it into the Delaware.
A right whale -- named Waldo the Wrong-Way Right Whale by Philadelphians -- was spotted in the Delaware River in 1995 near Petty's Island in Pennsauken Township. It spent about 10 days in the river. It was found two years later swimming near Canada.
Beluga whales typically swim no further south than the St. Lawrence Seaway, Schofield said, adding, they usually hang near the Hudson Bay and Arctic.
He could not explain how a whale would travel that far up the Delaware.
"Free eats," mused Kruger, suggesting the mammal chased after shad and herring. "He was catching the best before the shad fest" that is an annual attraction in Lambertville, north of Trenton.
Kruger said one person reported seeing the whale near Lambertville. The sergeant noted there is a "wing dam" with rapids just below New Hope, Pa., that most likely would be difficult for a whale to navigate.
Representatives of the National Marine Fisheries based in Woods Hole., Mass., and the Marine Mammal Stranding Center are expected to be in the Delaware today to check on the whale's location and condition.
Schofield said his staff have been asked to be on standby to travel from Maryland if needed.
Pagel said his center dealt with a beluga whale that was spotted in Corson's Inlet along the Jersey Shore over a decade ago.
Schofield suggested there is a rise in the number of aquatic species "moving into areas where they are not normally found."
It could be an indication of the "health of the oceans," he said.
Optimistically, the beluga whale may be "just wandering" and will find its way back into the ocean, he said.”

“Thanks for posting the full story. Hopefully, it will find its way back to the ocean.”

“

Not the whale in question, but the same type.

A scientist is on his way to check the condition of the whale. This happened before in 1995. That whale was last sighted near Canada. Hopefully he/she will be all right.”

“love those whales. i want to go visit him in the DE. i feel so bad... what about the latest oil spill? i hope he makes it back to the ocean safely.”

“Can't they tranquilize it and then get it back out to sea? It would be a shame for it to die outside Trenton, so far from its home.”

“that's what i was talking about last night when i heard the story.... they must be able to transport it somehow... that huge oil spill has got to be taking a toll on the whale's health.

the stupid news named the whale "Delawhale" since it's in the Delaware River. shame on them.”

“wow! I hope it gets back home safely.”

“poor thing....”

“I don't know... The water's pretty fresh this far up inland for sea-creatures. But then again, I guess whales are mammals, so that shouldn't really matter.

I wonder if the river is still deep enough for the thing at Trenton? Heck, with the recent flooding, it probably is...”

“the article said that the water is 20-25 feet deep there in trenton. George, I think you need to go get some pics of the beast.”

“i feel so bad for him.. i love him. we're engaged.”

“He does look kind of cute in that picture.”

“I almost believed it until I saw the picture.


It was just my ex-wife back home in PA going for a swim.”

“I almost believed it until I saw the picture.


It was just my ex-wife back home in PA going for a swim.

Don't encourage her, don't throw her food, just roll her fat ass back in and tell her to go home.
last edited: 4/13/05 8:15:04 PM”

“I heard an update this morning and a vet from the mystic aquarium is going to try to determine the health of the whale. They did try to get it to swim back downstream using boats, but it didn't work. It just swam 50 feet to the bottom and stayed there.”

“All reports here are that it seems in good health and is probably feeding on the migrating shad.

My name for the whale is The Traveling Whaleberry.”

“How about Lyra Beluga?”

“i love that whale”

“with my Dad, niece (Morgan) and sister (Rachael, Morgan's mommy) and we went searching for our arctic guest. We first checked out the river in Bristol, PA and then Morristown, PA and finally Trenton, NJ. We were watching the river at a seafood restaurant off of 29 for a while and then went down to the Trenton Thunder parking lot. There was a flurry of activity there. Lots of spectators, state police and media crews coming in and out of the parking lot and boat traffic up and down the river. The sun was setting and it was starting to get dark. We walked south along the river for about a mile. My niece is 2 and she was getting cranky. I ran back to get the car and they were going to go where all the scientists and state police boats were.

Right as I got back to my car, my Dad called to tell me they saw the whale surface. Very cool. I drove back and we watched the water again for a little bit longer, but it was dark by then and nothing was spotted. We then hit the road for home.

On the way Morgan called her daddy and told him she saw a Beluga whale and that she thought he was cute. Even though I didn't see the whale, it was worth it just to hear Morgan talk about it. She was really excited about seeing the whale.

The whole time we were walking along the river she was calling for the whale, saying, "Baby beluga".

no pictures :(
last edited: 4/16/05 11:22:11 PM”

“It sounds like the whale is drawing a big crowd. I heard on the news that people on the river in boats are giving it enough room. I also heard yesterday that it was 30 miles north of Philadelphia.”

“by the looks of it, Trenton is where the deep water ends, so Trenton is probably as far north as it can get.

Yesterday people were saying it has been swimming up and down from Philly to Trenton.”

“why aren't they doing anything about it?? can't they guide him back safely to the ocean? this is ridiculous. poor thing.”

“The latest news is that the whale was last spotted 20 miles north of Philadelphia and hasn't been seen since. They now believe the whale is back in the sea.”

“I last read he was spotted near the Ben Franklin Bridge on Sunday night.”

“they "believe" he's back in the sea? why aren't they tracking him?”

“money”

“Money is one reason, but the other one they mentioned is that if the whale moved back upstream he would have been spotted by now.”

“The Coast Guard reported two days back that Heris had entered the Atlantic.”

“I wonder if he is making his way to Reading.”

“Not bloody likely. There are at least half a dozen dams between the estuary and Reading.”

“And if he croaks, he's going to stink up South Philly worse than the Phillies.”

“How big is this guy anyway??

”

“Crap, it's a 100 miles from the ocean???

”

“What's THIS guy doing?.. trying to be the next Jonah??

”

“ohh.. he ain't all that big..

"Authorities said they spotted a 10- to 12-foot whale in the Delaware River. The whale was seen by state wildlife personnel and state marine police and was believed to be a beluga whale, said state police Capt. Al Della Fave."

I thought he was huge or something..”

“He's still big enough to give that guy in the kayak the ride of his life.

The police are trying to keep boaters away from the whale.”

“Geobeet: hehe.. someone contact Darwin Awards.. we may have a new honorable mention.”

“lol I know, I was just kidding. He wouldn't get out of Center City.”

“Yeah TD, Jonah the kayaker. When it comes to idiots in boats, the Delaware seems to have a bumper crop every spring. They rescued a group of kayakers from a wing dam the other day. Got stuck on it and couldn't figure out how to get off.”

“my poor whale :(”