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Last night a lost but otherwise healthy young gray whale somehow ended up in the Marina del Rey Harbor last night. Around 6 p.m., the 18 feet long whale was spotted entering the harbor. By morning it was gone.
Its appearance was mildly concerning. It's not unusual for calves to separate from their parents and come close to shore, scraping against the sand to rid itself of barnacles. But whale experts say that they were also a little confused about what the calf was doing here at this time of year, Peter Wallerstein, president of Marine Animal Rescue, told KTLA. The whale was spotted on video playing with a buoy, and it seemed to be goofing around and swimming in water as shallow as five feet.
"It was alone and going in the wrong direction," Wallerstein told the Los Angeles Times. "It was swimming fine but it was going in odd places."
Some were worried that the whale could get hit by a boat in the marina, and authorities called for boaters to steer clear. But the hands-off approach seems to work, and the whale found its way out. In the meantime, dozens of people who heard the news there was a whale rushed to the marina to get a peek.
