SAN DIEGO (AP) - Agencies continue to monitor a juvenile humpback whale swimming off the coast of San Diego that was injured after it was entangled in ropes and buoys.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports (https://bit.ly/2gC5Iq7 ) city lifeguards observed the young whale swimming slowly in the water off La Jolla during the weekend.
Lifeguard Lieutenant John Sandmeyer says the whale had large lacerations on its back and flukes caused by the entanglement. The lines were removed from the whale that measures between 20 and 25 feet (6 and 7.6 meters) and researchers authorized by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries evaluated the mammal.
The whale was found to be in poor condition. The agency’s stranded network coordinator Justin Viezbicke says the whale might not survive, and there’s not much the agencies can do.
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Information from: The San Diego Union-Tribune, https://www.utsandiego.com
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