Wayward whales take another wrong turn

http://robots.cnn.com/2007/US/05/22/delta.whales.ap/index.html

POSTED: 8:21 p.m. EDT, May 21, 2007

The Humpbacks nicknamed Delta and Dawn had traveled around 20 miles south of the port of Sacramento, and swimming toward the state capital. They turned around again this afternoon after scientist positioned dozen of boats in front of them. "They're at this point lost. We don't think they have any clue," said Rod McInnis of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Their current route will lead them to muddy deltas that could trap these whales. To get back to the Ocean, the two of them must make it to the San Francisco Bay, and swim under the Golden Gate Bridge to make it back to the Ocean. The whales were swimming toward the Pacific at 3:30 pm Sunday. They swam as far as the Rio Vista Bridge before turning around. Scientists believed that the vibrations from the traffic startled the two whales. The goal is to "make as much noise to be as obnoxious to the whales as possible" to get them to move back toward the ocean, said Ed Sweeney, a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.