Dead Whale in Long Beach Possibly Detangled in O.C.

A juvenile gray whale found dead inside Long Beach Harbor on Tuesday afternoon probably is the same whale that was freed from a fishing net off Dana Point on Saturday evening, Pete Thomas Outdoors reports on his blog. He told Patch Wednesday night that experts involved in whales think its likely but that there will probably be no way to be certain.

By Wednesday night, the dead gray whale reportedly had washed back inside the Long Beach Breakwater, but Long Beach Fire Department's lifeguards, previously involved, said Wednesday night that whale detanglement specialists had taken over the case.

On his blog posts, Thomas reported the Dana Point-Long Beach whale ID could not be determined conclusively. "Monica DeAngelis, a biologist with NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, could not confirm this as fact but said that the dead whale, which was towed to sea by Long Beach lifeguards on Tuesday afternoon, had similar wounds to its tail section.

"It also was towing a small piece of black rope, similar to the piece of rope rescuers were unable to cut loose. About 40 miles separates Dana Point and Long Beach.

"Photographs of the dead whale were taken when the cetacean was upside down, so it's difficult to match them with photos taken during the rescue effort, DeAngelis added. There is a size estimate discrepancy: The dead whale measured about 20 feet, while rescuers estimated the length of the animal they freed at closer to 30 feet.

(See YouTube for how that valiantly was accomplished over a night. The gill netting also held a dead sea lion and dead sharks.)

"The rescue effort was led by Dave Anderson of Capt. Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari. The whale was given the name "Bart" in honor of Peter Bartholomew, who stayed with the cetacean throughout Friday night, so rescuers would be able to locate the mammal and begin work Saturday morning."

To read more about Bart's rescue and the legacy his death may leave in spreading the message of fishing net dangers, click Thomas' blogs . And here's a report of another entangled whale pair.