Merged: Gowanus Canal whale

Subject: WHALE in GOWANUS!!!

http://www.gothamist.com/2007/04/17/whale_of_a_tale.php

:shock:

That water is nasty and polluted as hell!! OMG, it's going to die if it doesn't get out of there. So sad! It looks tiny too for a whale, maybe a baby??

Yeah, the article on the BBC speculated that it was a baby. They said it seemed in good health, hopefully it will swim out to somewhere safe!

poor baby whale...
http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=68840

Whale Spotted In Gowanus Canal

April 17, 2007

A baby Baleen whale was spotted in the Gowanus Canal Tuesday.

The U.S. Coast Guard says the whale, which was spotted off the piers
near 22 Street, is very young, possibly pre-juvenile.

Baleen whales are an endangered species.

Experts from the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and
Preservation were sent to assess its condition and help rescue the
whale.

It is unknown how or why the whale traveled into the Gowanus Canal.

let's eat it!

Yet another sign of the end of the world.

Here are some others:

Pelican Eats Pigeon

Cow eats chicken

That is the greatest cow ever.

depressing

When am I gonna learn to stop clicking on evry link posted on this Board/
Ech!!!

Subject: Whale in the Gowanus

http://www.gowanuslounge.blogspot.com/

Baby whale. Apparently playing. They have already named it Sludgie. Ick.

Anyone see it?

poor thing died.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070419/ap_on_sc/brooklyn_whale

That is really sad.
I guess we always want happy endings.

no! that's horrible!! awwww!!!

I had a friend over last night and got her all excited about this, then logged on to show her pictures only to have to tell her that he died. So sad, poor little whale...

so...are we eating it?

Whadya expect?

RIP Sludgie :-({|=

Reposted

Subject: Minke Whale drowned in Brooklyn Coastal Toilet

When I heard there was a Minke whale in the Gowanus Canal area, I thought to myself ... that's just disgusting (for the whale). Not yet! my sea fairing friend, this part of the Brooklyn coast is far from being whale friendly. In human terms, it is comparable to spending a night in a toilet bowl.



The continued discharge into the harbor, especially during severe rain, is a major issue which will only get worse with the coming of higher density in Brooklyn. Until we get our shit together, it looks like we will be alone in the toilet we have created for ourselves.

Does anyone have any information on the Owl Head Treatment Facility? Or any serious thoughts on this issue ...

Charlesbklyn

Subject: where's sonny's?

magical powers of flight! i can almost see fairway from here.

Amazingly, the whale died soon after entering the canal.

All the scientists who tried to save it don't yet know why it died. An autopsy to figure it out was inconclusive so they're doing more tests on tissue samples. The whale was already pretty beat up when it was first observed so it's possible it was already sick or injured when it entered the canal and that perhaps that contributed to it being disoriented enough to come that far in. So it's too soon to say whether it drowned or whether the water in the Gowanus Canal contributed to its death.

That said, I'm certainly not about to go swimming in the canal myself.

I'm merging the multiple topics on this together - no need for this many threads on the same subject.

I've also moved this entire thread to the Gowanus board, as it's much more a Gowanus topic than a "Brooklyn and Beyond" or Park Slope one.

Subject: Coast looks better, though ...

I visited the Brooklyn coast today, and I was just south of the Gowanus outlet, and I must say, there is definitely a difference in water quality from the 1980's. The visibility is still only a few feet, but the water quality is not in its past condition.

I hope one day it will be even better ... you know, the kids use to swim in the east river.



Photo - Arthur Leipzig

Subject: Re: Coast looks better, though ...

Shame the Minke is dead. Only one thing to do with fresh Minke, once the scientists are finished with it:

really, doc? i thought this was the only thing to do with a dead minke: