Pilot whales edge closer to goal

EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, Fla. - Pods of 35 pilot whales slowly swam Thursday into deeper water off Florida's southwest coast, raising optimism that the strandings of whales on Everglades National Park beaches may soon end on a positive note.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries official Blair Mase said midafternoon Thursday that the three whale pods were nine miles north of their original location and continuing to move offshore. They were in 18 feet of water about six miles offshore, still several miles from the 900-to-1,000-foot depths they usually call home, Mase said.

"They are in deeper water, and they are getting closer to their normal home range," Mase said. "Even though we are hopeful . . . there is a chance they could come back inshore again."

Mase said the total of dead whales has reached 11, with five still unaccounted for. She said wildlife workers were surprised Thursday morning to find that most of the live whales had moved out of the shallows on their own during the night. By early evening Thursday, most crews had left the scene, but a Coast Guard cutter was to remain stationed with the whales overnight Thursday.

About 15 vessels carrying 35 personnel were involved in the effort to track the whales, which were first spotted Tuesday in extremely shallow water in the Everglades park south of Naples.

Wildlife workers had planned to try using noises such as banging on pipes and revving boat engines to herd the whales out to the open ocean. But that turned out to be unnecessary, and the workers simply used positioning of the boats to prevent any of the whales from turning away from the open sea, Mase said.

Teams from NOAA, the National Park Service, the Coast Guard, and state wildlife agencies were working to prevent any more whales from stranding. The short-finned pilot whale is known for its close-knit social groups: If one whale gets stuck or stays behind, the others are likely to stay or even beach themselves.