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[RedwoodsMama]

 As many of you know, Baby and I took a video (which I will post again here for others to see, ) only about a week ago, of a MOther Grey whale trapped in the Klamath River, approx      miles from where I live in the Redwoods. Well, today was a very very sad day for the thousands or people who came to love and respect the magnificent creature. As the story that follows will show, she just got "tired"  and died early this morning.   I found out when my husband walked in the door, and I only today posted I hoped I would get to go see her and shoot more video this weekend. God had other plans for her.
             The Yurok trib, the native tribe in the river's area will give the whale a private Yurok burial close to where she beached herself late Monday night. There were dozens of people lining the bridge and rooting for her. At one point she was close to trying to go back out to sea, but she must not have had the strength. There is a necropsy being performed currently to see if she was suffering from any disease. Apparently she had enough of a "fat layer" and was not starving to death. As you can see from this great photo of a surfer in the river close to her, you can see she was very gentle and huge. (45 feet long) The good news is that her calf, 6 months old and weaned, left her in late july and swam back out to sea, it was spotted and presumed to be ok. Why the mother did not leave is very puzzling. Here is the post of the story, and then I will repost the video I took of her and Baby the Rb who wanted to see a whale and got her wish. This is part of my tribute to this wonderful whale and I am sad that she did not make it, but happy that she touched so many people. She will be given a private burial by the Yurok Tribe and buried along the sandbar where she beached and died, under willow trees.  Feel free to leave your comments here for this wonderful whale. May she be in a wonderful place free again                            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7df1YK1xhmk<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHniSl-HRGs" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHniSl-HRGs</a>                      RedwoodsMama and "her Pleo township in the Redwoods"


clicking on the other Youtube link will take you to see the mother whale and her baby while they were both still here.

[saratogaspringer]

I feel so badly about the passing of this great creature. I read the story yesterday on an Internet news outlet, but didn't want to post until you read the story and did so, RWM. She is now swimming happily, free of pain and full of strength in a world that we cannot see but believe in. May she rest in peace.

[choice79]

That is sooooo sad. 

Everybody drove there to film the whales and look at them and nobody really helps.

[LuckyPleo]

Poor sweetheart.  I love marine life and its sad to hear about this happening, it's good to know the baby is safe though.

[kat]

It is very sad that she didn't make it.  

[latrine]

It is really sad that she didn't make it, I hope that any information that can be gained from her helps them to help other whales in the future and its really amazing that she will be given a burial by the Yurok tribe, that just sounds like it will be so respectful.. and it sounds like, even though she was sick, she still did her job and got her baby ready for the world, that's pretty amazing too.
I feel bad for her but I'm glad she feels better now.
Thanks for letting us know, RWM...


--- Also.. I was looking it up and found this so it sounds like the marine folks were trying to do something to help.. the folks that were swimming with her and paddling out to her were probably the ones doing more harm than good, your not supposed to touch them and people don't realize how strong they are, even though they are gentle. :

A 45-foot gray whale that delighted people for more than a month after taking up residence in Northern California’s Klamath River died yesterday after beaching itself on a sandbar.

The whale drew big, curious crowds since swimming into the river with its calf in late June, taking refuge in fresh water for an unknown reason while migrating north from birthing grounds off Baja, Calif. Scientists said it may have been escaping from killer whales.

Efforts to drive it back to sea with calls of killer whales played upriver and other measures could not persuade the whale to leave, but the calf swam out to sea on July 23.

The mother remained, sometimes feeding on invasive species of clams and snails in the mud of the river bottom, blowing geysers of air and water out her blowhole, and spending time within sight of people who lined a bridge over the river.

Its behavior enthralled people who stood in the river playing violins, paddled out to the whale in canoes playing flutes, and jumped out of kayaks to swim with the huge animal.

“It’s very sad,’’ said Thomas O’Rourke, chairman of the Yurok Tribe, whose reservation lines the banks of the river south of Crescent City, Calif. “It started to become a part of the community.’’

O’Rourke visited the dead whale and said a prayer for it. He believes the whale might have been showing its calf a place it had known in its youth.

- Sarah

[RedwoodsMama]

 Thanks everyone for your kind words of respect to this gentle giant and yes I am hoping and believing that she did show her young calf that this was a place she had visited in her own 'calf hood", ( many scientist believe that the mother whale may be the same whale that last appeared here in the Klamath River back in 1989 as a baby with it's mother, that would have been 22 years ago, the last time a whale was here, the same species ). I thought about posting the same article you did Latrine, and I was very happy that the Yurok tribe are going to give her a respectful decent burial. ( my husband who is also part Yurok, was very tearful yesterday when he came home to tell me of her passing.) I do like the fact that people were playing violins to her, but I too kept thinking, "why isn't there something else they can do to 'move' her out of the river and out to deeper water.?I do understand that she was very heavy, tons and tons and 45 feet is way too heavy for a helicopter etc, it is not like moving a elephant even, or a dolphin. Also the fact the river has been dropping and the water in some places under the bridge was only 15 feet deep kind of says how bad the situation was. 
         Her best shot was to leave when her calf did, but perhaps she had a disease that only the necropsy will hopefully show, and she chose this as her final resting spot, the spot she remembered from when she was a calf.  I only hope that scientists can learn more from her passing on how to deal with this in the future. It is a sad but true fact that our planet is losing more and more species every day, including species we have not even discovered yet.. These gentle giants have been around since the dawn of time and it is sad to think that one of the planet's most enduring and magnificent creatures is slowly being removed from existence. 
                    There were thousands of people who were privileged to be able to see this whale in her own environment and she was as gentle as could be. There were children that have never seen a whale and will remember years from now getting to see the mama and baby in the Klamath River. Technology of Camcorders and even most cell phones has enabled masses of people who otherwise would not have been able to take all these memories of this whale and her baby. I will allways cherish the fact I got to see this beautiful mother before she passed and even though it brings a tear to my eye, I can remember this meeting as a honor and something I would not have been able to do otherwise.

                     I do hope years from now, the baby whale does not make the same trip it's mother made and if it does return and with a baby of it's own, there is a happier ending to the story. Sarastoga, I loved the way you said" She is now swimming happily , free of pain and full of strength in a world that we cannot see but believe in. May she rest in peace".                                RedwoodsMama   and "the Pleos Township in the Redwoods", who send their blessing and ;love to Mother whale and to her calf wherever she is.

[RedwoodsMama]

 Here is another tribute to the Mama whale which died a couple of days ago which I thouoght was a nice story and also a nice short video that you may not have seen that shows the mother and her baby earlier in the river, June early July. After reading the story, click on the video which is only about 40 seconds long, The mother is now buried and it is nice to know that the scientists were right with her in the water up to the end. Thank you for letting me share this with you, it makes her passing a little easier to live with and the tears less each day. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/17/klamath-river-whale-delighted-observers_n_929430.html
                                                                                 RWM

[Crewella]

Thanks for posting that RWM.  It's such a sad story, but I'm so glad you shared you footage with us.