<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14pt"><div class="" style=""><a href="http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_26257038/gray-whale-makes-quick-trip-klamath-river" class="" style="">http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_26257038/gray-whale-makes-quick-trip-klamath-river</a><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 19px; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; "><br class="" style=""></div><div class="" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 19px; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; "><span class="" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; "><h1 id="articleTitle" class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom:
11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.2; color: inherit; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; font-size: 33px; white-space: normal !important; ">Gray whale makes a quick trip to the Klamath River</h1><div id="articleSubTitle" class="" style="text-align: left; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; text-transform: none; -webkit-user-select: text; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold !important; ">Local professor says curious behavior is not uncommon</div><div id="articleByline" class="" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: italic; font-size: 14px; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/20px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: italic; font-size: 14px; " class="">By Will Houston</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/20px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: italic; font-size: 14px; " class=""><a href="mailto:whouston@times-standard.com" style="color: rgb(82, 120, 174); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition-property: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; " class="">whouston@times-standard.com</a> @Will_S_Houston on Twitter</div></div><div id="articleDate" class="" style="text-align: left; font: normal normal normal 10px/16.989px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(128, 128, 128);
text-transform: uppercase; white-space: nowrap; ">POSTED: 07/31/2014 11:37:41 PM PDT<a href="http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_26257038/gray-whale-makes-quick-trip-klamath-river#disqus_thread" data-disqus-identifier="ci_26257038" style="color: rgb(128, 128, 128); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition-property: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; float: right; " class="">0 COMMENTS</a></div><br class="" style=""><span fd-type="start" fd-id="default" class="" style=""></span><div class="" style="text-align: left; "></div><span fd-type="end" fd-id="default" class="" style=""></span><div id="articleBody" class="" style="text-align: left; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 22.652px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><div class="" id="articleViewerGroup" style="text-align: left; float: right;
border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; width: 202px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; "><span class="" style="text-align: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; "><div id="photoviewer" style="text-align: left; width: 200px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; " class=""><span
class="" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; height: 14px; padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-color: rgb(127, 127, 127); border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); display: block; ">Click photo to enlarge</span><div class="" style="text-align: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; background-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; display: table; "><div class="" style="text-align: center; display: table-cell; vertical-align: middle; "><div class="" style="text-align: left; "><a id="gallery_link" border="0px"
href="http://www.times-standard.com/portlet/article/html/render_gallery.jsp?articleId=26257038&siteId=127&startImage=1" target="_new" style="color: rgb(82, 120, 174); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition-property: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; " class=""><img id="image" src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site127/2014/0801/20140801__ETS-L-Whale-0801~1_VIEWER.jpg" width="171" height="140" style="height: auto; vertical-align: middle; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; visibility: visible; " class=""></a></div></div></div><div id="caption" class="" style="text-align: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;
margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); ">A gray whale had a quick swim in the Klamath River estuary on... (Photo courtesy of Merle Stevenson)</div><div class="" style="text-align: left; height: 23px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "></div><span class="" style="clear: both; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></span></div></span><span fd-type="start" fd-id="default" class="" style=""></span><span fd-type="end"
fd-id="default" class="" style=""></span></div><span fd-type="start" fd-id="default" class="" style=""></span><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class="">The lower Klamath River received a large marine visitor on Wednesday when a gray whale made a quick swim through the estuary before returning to the ocean, according to Yurok Tribe Fisheries Program Manager Dave Hillemeier.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class="">During its brief tenure, the gray whale chose to remain close to salt water, Hillemeir said.</div><div style="margin-top:
0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class="">"The whale just hanged out around the lips of the lower quarter mile, and was only there about 45 minutes," Hillemeier said after talking with the crew members present at the scene.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class="">Wednesday's visit was the not the first time a gray whale has swam into the Klamath River.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px
!important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class="">In June 2011, a mother gray whale — known as "MaMa" — and her calf swam upriver and stayed under the U.S. Highway 101 bridge, drawing crowds of curious people. The calf eventually separated from its mother to swim downstream. The mother whale died that August due to the exposure to freshwater and lack of food, according to Humboldt State University zoology professor and Marine Mammal Education and Research program director Dawn Goley, who was present the day MaMa died.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class="">"Her skin and physiology weren't able to accommodate being in freshwater," Goley said. "Her immune system was compromised. She died of a combination of starvation and
infection."</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class="">While the mouth of the river has a mix of saltwater and freshwater, Goley said the pure freshwater of the upstream areas is not the optimal place for whales to stay for too long, though the behavior of whales to swim upriver is not unprecedented.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class="">"Gray whales can become curious and go into the rivers and if they find something they like, they might stay," she said. "Sometimes there is abundant prey there. Oftentimes, they just come in
and then leave. I'm pretty happy to hear this whale came in and left."</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class="">With the federal government announcing Wednesday that it would not be releasing water from Trinity Lake to prevent fish kills in the Trinity and lower Klamath rivers, Hillemeier said he was also glad the whale decided to leave.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class="">"It's a good thing that it turned around and went out," he said. "The lower Klamath River is no place for that whale to be."</div><div style="margin-top:
0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); " class=""><em style="font-style: italic; " class="">Will Houston can be reached at 707-441-0504.</em></div><div class="" style=""><em style="font-style: italic; " class=""><br class="" style=""></em></div></div></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 19px; font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; " class=""><br class="" style=""></div></div></body></html>