Wayward gray whale takes a breather in Marina del Rey channel

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Marina del Rey boaters are being asked to be extra careful while a wayward California gray whale on its way to northern waters takes a breather in the area. Our colleague Ruben Vives has the details:

The whale, estimated to be more than 20 feet long, has been swimming and diving in the channel for almost a week now, said Peter Wallerstein, a spokesman for Marine Animal Rescue.

‘It’s looking healthy, it’s swimming and diving,’ he said.

Although the whale has made its way into the open sea in recent days, it keeps returning to the channel, Wallerstein said.

California gray whales migrate from the warm waters of Baja California (where they breed and give birth) to the cooler climes of Alaska every year between February and May. ‘This one is probably a straggler,’ Wallerstein said of the Marina’s current visitor.

Wallerstein and a group of Marine Animal Rescue volunteers plan to track the whale as long as it remains in the channel to make sure it remains in good health.

-- Lindsay Barnett