Whales back to within 50 miles of ocean

POSTED: 1101 GMT (1901 HKT), May 28, 2007

The two whales are now moving towards the ocean again, they are now 50 miles within the ocean. But the rescuers are concerned about the whales getting closer to the San Francisco Bay, because they will encounter large ships there. The mother humpback whale and her calf made it down the Sacramento River and Honker Bay on Sunday. They are also at risk of taking a wrong turn and the risk of getting stuck in shallow mudflats. Rescuers will position their boats to prevent the whales from taking a wrong turn. Their long exposure to fresh water has made their wounds worsen. Veterinarians used sponges attached to a pole to take skin cells from their wounds, the bumps on their skin resembles blisters. "We really need to try to get them back into a more appropriate environment so they can start healing," said Trevor Spradlin. The bumps could be an infection from bacteria, virus or fungus. Researchers have injected the whales with antibiotics, and this will slow down the damage.

This is good news because after trying a lot of different methods, the rescuers finally got the whales to move to the right direction. Now they are 50 miles within the ocean and hopefully in the next few days they will make it to the ocean. The biggest concern has to be the wounds they have. We have to get them back in the ocean as soon as possible, so that their wounds can heal. I am sure that the antibiotics injected into their skin will keep their wound heal.