Whale Dawdles on Her First Day of Freedom

She’s swimming, she’s vocalizing, she’s “spy-hopping,” she’s staying aloof from others of her kind, and she seems in no hurry to leave Southern California.

All in all, the first full day of freedom for J.J., the California gray whale, was declared a success Wednesday by her former caregivers at the Sea World aquatic theme park.

“She’s investigating her environment,” said Jim Antrim, Sea World’s general curator.

Released Tuesday morning from a Coast Guard cutter two miles out to sea, J.J. swam west, then south, and then north, and by early Wednesday was located off the beach of Coronado.

Four transmitters surgically attached to her back are giving scientists information about her location and diving patterns. A 70-foot sportfishing vessel with researchers from the Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute is also following the 31-foot-long, 19,200-pound mammal.

Researchers aboard the vessel recorded J.J. making the kinds of sounds that whales are thought to use to communicate with others of their species. During J.J.’s 14 months at Sea World, caregivers played recordings of such sounds for J.J.’s education.

The transmitters emit signals each time J.J. breaks the surface. From that data, researchers have decided she is “spy-hopping,” a common behavior in which an animal bobs out of the water to check its surroundings.

Researchers have seen no evidence that J.J. has approached any other whales, although several pods are known to be in the area. Although Sea World officials would prefer that J.J. tag along with whales on their northward migration to Alaska, they see no need for her to rush.

In fact, some young whales opt to go no farther than the cool waters off the Pacific Northwest and are no worse for the experience.

“I’ve been watching whales and dolphins a long time,” Antrim said, “and one thing is true: They know how to take care of themselves.”