Jul 7, 2022
A quarter of a century ago, SeaWorld San Diego received a days old, nearly one ton gray whale calf whose mother was nowhere to be found and was presumed dead from a possible boat strike. With no previous data or experience on the neonatal nutritional and husbandry needs of a large species of baleen whale, SeaWorld's Keith Yip and the rest of the animal team set about the impossible task of saving an emaciated and dehydrated calf on the verge of death. What began as a long-shot turned into world wide interest in the first-of-its-kind rescue, rehabilitation, study, and eventual return to the ocean of a 31 foot, 19,000 pound gray whale some 15 months later. Part 1.