Beached whale swims strongly to sea after being treated for apparent illness

DELTA, British Columbia – A young gray whale found beached near Tsawwassen swam away on a high tide and joined two other whales in the area, officials said.

The 18-foot whale, probably 2 or 3 years old, appeared to be struggling for life when it was discovered Monday but swam away quite strongly in the evening, said Jeremy Fitzgibbon, manager of animal projects at the Vancouver Aquarium.

“There are some adult whales … probably about three miles away, and that’s probably its family, we guess,” Fitzgibbon said.

He said the Fisheries Department would be monitoring the whale.

When first discovered, the lethargic whale hardly moved except to fill its lungs in gasping breaths.

Veterinarian David Huff of the Vancouver Aquarium said initially the extremely thin whale appeared to have an illness that reduced its chances of survival, but no irregularities were found in blood samples taken from the animal later in the day.

Huff referred to the whale as a female, but its sex wasn’t definitely determined. It was given antibiotics.

“She’s at the very least been starving and is most likely starving and sick and just came up here because she no longer had the energy to keep afloat,” Huff said.

A dozen people volunteered to help keep the whale cool on the beach as about 50 others watched. Huff said there has been a group of gray whales in the same area for the last week.

Gray whales migrate southward in September to winter in lagoons along California and Mexico, and between February and May they migrate to northern feeding grounds.