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Wildlife Whale in Dana Point Harbor seems to need a touch of help, so paddleboarder obliges

Dana Point News - 8/17/2017

DANA POINT -- Amy Lagera was helping a young adult with special needs learn to paddleboard when she spotted a wayward juvenile gray whaleAug. 8 close to the surface near the Ocean Institute.

Lagera, founder of Adaptive Freedom Foundation, a group based out of Hawaii that creates adapted paddleboards to give people who are disabled a chance to get on the water, observed the whale getting closer and closer to shore.

"I had paddled out with Seth, from Bridging the Gap, who was volunteering with our group that day, and Mia, a participant from Just Like Me," Lagera said. "We followed her over in hopes we could guide her back to the harbor entrance. She swam over to the docks and got herself wedged into a corner."

That's when Lagera, 40, a flight attendant from Huntington Beach seated at the tip of the board, decided to gently glide into the water to help the whale and to prevent the board from getting too close.

She briefly considered that the

whale could smash her if it became startled or scared.

"I knew she needed help and I wanted to do it," Lagera said. "I thought I was less threatening than a paddleboard or kayak. I swam a little ways over to her and touched her between her back and tail. It was rubbery and spongy feeling. I never imagined I would be touching a whale. As soon as I did, she turned herself around and swam toward the center of the harbor."

"She seemed to be free of anxiety once she got turned around," Lagera added.

For Lagera, it was an amazing moment, and one she will treasure forever.

After seven hours in the harbor, the whale finally was guided out to the mouth of the harbor by the Orange County Sheriff's Harbor Patrol and a host of paddleboarders and kayakers. It was seen off Emerald Bay in Laguna Beach by Mark Girardeau late Tuesday.

On Aug. 10, it was spotted before noon in Newport Harbor near Davey's Locker and appeared to be swimming calmly and normally, said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, who runs the American Cetacean Society'sLos Angeles Chapter Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project at Point Vicente off Palos Verdes.

By midafternoon, the whale was spotted heading past the mooring but later in the evening was seen near Lido Island.

As of press time Tuesday morning,the whale was in the Back Bay of Newport Harbor.

Dominic Biagini, an aerial photographer for Capt. Dave's Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari, filmed Lagera as she swam with the whale and captured the image that has since gone viral on social media.

"NOAA usually recommends not trying to help them, so as to reduce the chances of causing them additional stress, or people accidentally getting hurt if the whale feels threatened," said Capt. Dave Anderson.

"In this case I believe everyone involved with this effort, trying to get the animal out of the harbor, were well meaning and did not cause any harm, and for all we know maybe the whale really was having trouble finding its way out and they helped it. In most cases, though, it is best to leave the whale alone to find its own way. It may take longer but the whale will find its way out."

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