Injured Whale Strays Into Delaware River

An injured right whale that took a wrong turn ended up in the Delaware River, swimming in slow circles as rescuers tried Sunday to steer it back toward the Atlantic.

The young mammal, which may have been separated from its mother, strayed north into Delaware Bay instead of moving south for winter.

The whale’s head was bleeding from an apparent run-in with a boat during its 80-mile trek from the mouth of the bay at Lewes, Del., to Philadelphia, where it was first spotted Saturday.

“Or it could have been hit out in the ocean, possibly resulting in some disorientation,” said Bob Schoelkopf, director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Unit in Brigantine, N.J.

The 25-foot whale appeared to be lethargic and could be hungry, Schoelkopf said from a police boat. He said it appeared to be about a year old.

Marine biologists had guided the whale to within about 60 miles of the Atlantic by Sunday night. But Schoelkopf wasn’t sure whether the animal would reach the ocean before dying.

Farther south, officials were monitoring a second whale that was meandering in the Potomac River, the Coast Guard said. They were trying to determine if the two whales were related.