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 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Scientists observing the wayward wanderings of two humpback whales in a California river have more to celebrate than their return to the Pacific Ocean — the duo provided an unexpected opportunity to study the endangered species.
The information scientists gathered includes sound recordings, logs of their behavior and tissue samples from both the mother and calf, which will be analyzed to determine whether they come from a pod of whales that travel between Mexico and California.
"All those things are very hard to get. So what we are doing is filling up the knowledge bank on humpback whales in the wild," said Jim Oswald, a spokesman for the nonprofit Marine Mammal Center, a private scientific and rescue organization. The experience also could prove helpful in approaching other stranded whales, he said.
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