Trying to Save the Whales, February 7, 1977

Before dawn on February 6th, 1977, 175-200 pilot whales moved with the rising tide into the Fort George River near the mouth of the St. Johns River. The whales appeared to be disoriented and lethargic as they moved steadily ashore.

We lived on Fort George Island at that time and soon jumped into action along with other locals trying to keep the beached whales wet as we tried to get them back in deep water. We were soon joined by state Florida Marine Patrol, Sailors from Mayport and Scientist from Smithsonian. Fort George Inlet did not have any hotels or motels and only a couple of places that served food. The Mayport Ferry stopped running in the early evening hours. It was cold. The minimum air temperature was 0 degrees at Jacksonville Beach.

It was necessary to work day and night in an effort to refloat as many as possible. My children worked tirelessly. Fortunately my daughter “T” was home and we set up headquarters at our house. We prepared meals, beds, sleeping bags and dry clothes while we washed and dried wet clothes for each shift of the out of town helpers.

Unfortunately by 8:45 am February 7, 23 whales were dead on the beach at site A. The whales would mill around in the bay, then become restranded again. By 10:30 a.m. another 40 whales died at site B. The whales continued to become stranded in the following days. A total of 135 dead whales were recovered. Whales were reported stranded along the coast as far as South Carolina.

You can click on the photos below to read more historical accounts:

Below is the first page of an article in the Fishery Bulletin, Vol. 77, Issue 2. You can click on it to read more.