Rio Vista, Calif.
Whale rescuers boarded a fire boat Friday and prepared to spray powerful hoses into the water near two stranded whales in the latest attempt to herd the wounded humpbacks back to their ocean habitat.The tactic has never been attempted before, and scientists don't know how the mother whale and her calf will respond to the fire hoses, which will be used to create pressure streams and air bubbles in the water.
"No one has done this before," said Frances Gulland, director of veterinary science at the Sausalito-based Marine Mammal Center who is leading the rescue operation. "At this point, we don't know if it will be a deterrent or an attractant."
On Friday morning, the wayward whales were spotted about a mile and a half north of a Sacramento River bridge about 70 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean where they have been circling for several days, said Greg Hurner, a spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game.
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