"JJ" the Grey Whale Killed by Makau Indians?!
Jim Morris
-----Original Message-----
Subject: FW: (Fwd) JJ/Makah release
Hi Tamara,
Included below is the press release that I had mentioned on the
telephone. Keep in mind that there could be politics involved here as
Vice President Gore's office had supported (to include financial
support) the Makau hunt according to what I have heard (haven't been
able to confirm such though). If accurate, Vice President Gore views
himself as "Mr. Environmental" and would probably not want "JJ"'s blood
on his hands. Especially as he is about to make a run for the
Presidency!
Best,
Jim
Jamesd...@hotmail.com, jdtm...@earthlink.net
-----Original Message-----
Subject: RE: (Fwd) JJ/Makah release
Thanks so much for the additional info, Wen! I have a really sad feeling
that it was indeed "JJ"! Again, this really is depressing because the
beach that "JJ" was rescued from is about a five minute walk from where
my boat is docked in Marina Del Rey. I have tried to get the word out
about her internationally on the Newsgroups in an attempt to not let her
apparent death (to be confirmed if the National Marine Fisheries Service
allows DNA comparison) be in vain!
If it was "JJ", the only benefit (if we can even call it such) is that
it will bring even more international attention to the situation and
will increase the sadness and anger that people already have to the
point of perhaps preventing such from ever happening in US waters again!
Beautiful picture of "JJ:
http://jj.seaworld.org/graywhale/current.html
http://jj.seaworld.org/graywhale/annpress.html
-----Original Message-----
From: Wendy Jo
Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 1999 7:06 AM
To: jdtm...@earthlink.net
Subject: (Fwd) JJ/Makah release
RE: Possible JJ Information
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date sent: Tue, 25 May 1999 16:02:31 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: JJ/Makah release
Hi all, Paul and I sent this out and received a very good response.
This
added more fuel to the controversy, and Sea World is only saying it
is
unlikely JJ. WE are on record demanding that NMFS do DNA analysis
which
forces them to do something they would rather not. This story turned
this
whale into an individual not just a part of a stock. thanks mark
>Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 10:31:22 -0400
>From: Anna Spong
>Subject: JJ/Makah release
>Sender: Anna Spong
>To: Mark Berman
>MIME-Version: 1.0
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>May 21, 1999
>MAKAH MAY HAVE KILLED JJ
>JJ the famous Gray whale may have been saved by one group of humans when
>she found herself stranded on a California beach 30 months ago, only to be
>killed by another group of humans after being returned to the sea. The
>possibility was raised today in a release by whale activists who demanded
>that the US National Marine Fisheries Service conduct DNA tests on tissue
>taken from the whale slaughtered by the Makah on May 17th.
>"The whale butchered by the Makah fits the profile of JJ very closely" said
>Mark Berman of San Francisco's Earth Island Institute. "A female, she was
>about 3 years old, so was JJ. She was obviously familiar with humans, so
>was JJ. The possibility therefore exists that the Makah killed JJ. We
>feel it is now incumbent on NMFS to find out whether or not this whale was
>JJ. They have the tissue so they can easily do the DNA tests and compare
>the results with DNA tests of JJ's blood while she was at Sea World. Then
>we'll know."
>Long time whale researcher Dr. Paul Spong of Canada's OrcaLab concurred.
>"The whale harpooned by the Makah swam right over to the boat, so it was
>simple for them to stick the harpoon in", said Spong. "The chances are
>this was one of the friendly grays that whale watchers love to touch, but
>because of her age and sex she could have been JJ."
>The "friendly" gray whales referred to by Spong are the whales that migrate
>annually to the lagoons of Baja, Mexico to have their babies. Over the
>last two decades a thriving whale watching industry has developed around
>the whales' habit, and dozens of boats take whale watchers from all over
>the world out to see the whales. Many of the whales have become so
>accustomed to people that they seek out contact, rubbing their bodies on
>boat bottoms and soliciting touching by people.
>"In the bad old days the whalers called gray whales 'Devil Fish' because
>they used to attack people trying to harm them", said Berman. "Now they
>love people, or at least they have a very friendly attitude towards us.
>What a way to treat a friend."
---------------------------
Mark Berman
Program Associate
International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island
300 Broadway #28
San Francisco CA 94133 USA
415-788-3666 X 146
Fax 415-788-7324