Klamath, California - In a ceremony screened by tall willows, the Yurok Tribe last week laid to rest a 45-foot (14-meter) gray whale that had delighted residents, passers-by and scientists after swimming into the lower Klamath River with its calf nearly two months ago.
With scientists by its side, the whale died at about 4am after beaching itself on the northern bank of the river. Crowds of people gathered to the spot within sight of the US Highway 101 bridge and an RV park where they had watched for weeks as it swam back and forth, seemingly taking pleasure in the attention.
“It's very sad,” said Thomas O'Rourke, chairman of the Yurok Tribe, whose Indian reservation lines the banks of the river south of Crescent City, California “It started to become a part of the community.”
A large backhoe hauled the whale onto the riverbank above the high tide line and dug a pit, O'Rourke said. After singing a song and saying a prayer to send the whale on its journey to the afterlife, tribal members turned over the carcass to scientists for a necropsy. A burial was to follow.
There was no obvious reason why the whale died, said Dawn Goley, professor of zoology at Humboldt State University.
The whale came into the river in late June with its calf, gradually working its way upriver until its favourite haunt was underneath the US Highway 101 bridge.
Crowds of people ran across the roadway, oblivious to speeding traffic, to watch the whales swimming underneath. Some serenaded them with violins and flutes. One person jumped out of a kayak to swim with them.
“It was like a rock concert,” said Reweti Wiki, a Maori from New Zealand wo is a partner in the Requa Inn bed and breakfast overlooking the river. “Early on, it was a novel experience, with people happy and intrigued. But as it dragged on, people became concerned. Eventually it turned into a tragedy. As it moved past normal, there was a sense that people were visiting to say their final farewells, or wish she would do something to improve her situation.”
No one knows why the whale took refuge in fresh water while migrating north from the birthing grounds off Baja California. Some scientists say it may have been driven inland by killer whales.
The calf swam back out to sea on July 23, about the right time for it to wean and go off on its own. But efforts to drive its mother back to sea, including calls of killer whales played upriver, did not persuade it to leave.
It stayed, sometimes feeding on invasive species of clams and snails in the mud of the river bottom, shooting great geysers of air and water out of her blowhole. - Sapa-AP