Concerns are rising among experts and the public over a whale trapped for several days at Long Beach Catalina Landing.
The Minke whales arrive late Tuesday night, and probably during the tide on Tuesday, but it was unclear how long they could survive in the shallow waters of the harbor.
Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tried to help the whales leave on Thursday.
The opening from the harbor began to widen and for a moment the whale seemed to leave, but it turned around and swam after a while.
The mobile phone video shoots a minced whale that appears to be stuck in a marina in Long Beach on April 3, 2025.
“I hope it comes out. The water here is pretty dim… it’s a beautiful animal. If you’re not sick, you should be able to get out of here,” said local Ray Pereira.
Unfortunately, KTLA’s Erin Myers said the whales were swimming in circles near the Catalina Express Dock on Friday.
One expert believes that the bridge is blaming it for reluctant to leave the area.
“It’s a potential bridge. It’s a very superficial animal, and when you get out of that small area and look up, you’ll see this very large structure above your head, and whales are not used to having things on top of them.
The young whale is clearly a teenager, with no visible wounds and is still relatively healthy.
“It swims regularly. It appears in a regular pattern. It doesn’t look skinny… so there’s nothing to show that it’s really sick,” said marine biologist Alisa Shulman Janiger.
Plans to support the whales on Friday remain unknown, but the public was asked to maintain that distance and not throw anything into the water.
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