Whales getting a weekend rest

Sacramento -- As would-be rescuers gave two wayward humpbacks a day off Saturday, whale watchers got a close look at the mother and calf in a California river.

Onlookers arrived by both boat and car, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Sheriff's deputies warned boaters to keep at least 500 yards away from the aquatic mammals.

The whales appeared in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta about two weeks ago, 90 miles from the Pacific. They apparently turned into San Francisco Bay by mistake as they headed up the coast on their annual migration.

The pair have been named Delta and Dawn.

So far, the whales have refused to head under the Rio Vista Bridge, although they came downstream after getting as far as a basin in the Port of Sacramento. Rescuers have tried a variety of tactics, including recordings of feeding humpbacks and attacking killer whales, to coax or frighten them back to sea.

The plan is to have another try Tuesday with fireboats creating bubble curtains.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.