Pilot whale makes fresh appearance Animal lingering off Stockton Springs

STOCKTON SPRINGS – More than a week after it first was seen in these waters, a young pilot whale, believed to be ill, injured or both, was still swimming in the area, at least as of Sunday night.

Since the whale came to the cove near Irene Hagemann’s home, she has been in contact with Allied Whale, the nonprofit research and rescue group associated with College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor. Sean Todd, director of the group and a professor at the college, has twice come to the aid of the whale, along with others who work with Allied Whale.

Todd said last week that he expected the whale to die. The animal, which is about 12 feet long, has been beaching itself on the mudflats of the area northeast of Cape Jellison. Allied Whale officials have helped the whale get back into deeper waters.

Once in deeper waters, the whale swims in tight, clockwise circles, covering an area about 20 feet across. The whale stays on the surface, which is not normal behavior, Todd said last week.

Hagemann said Monday that she spotted the whale a few times over the weekend.

“I spotted him on Friday,” in waters north of Fort Point State Park, she said.

Later she saw the whale near Sandy Point, closer to the mouth of the Penobscot River. When Hagemann saw a ship heading up the river, she grew concerned about the whale’s safety.

At one point, she watched the whale through binoculars and saw it swim straight for nearly 10 minutes, a good sign, she believes.

“He has to be eating, because he wouldn’t have the stamina to do what he was doing,” she said.

Allied Whale officials speculated that the whale may be suffering from a neurological disorder, which might account for its swimming in circles.

At about midday Sunday, the whale returned to the cove below the bluff where Hagemann’s house sits. As the tide dropped, the animal came close to getting stuck.

“He stayed until we walked him out,” she said, which was at about 8:30 p.m. The whale then swam straight for a time, circled, then swam straight, and made some more circles.

“Someone said he was writing ‘goodbye’ in the water,” she said, laughing.

Hagemann and some of her neighbors are pulling for the animal to survive. She said she wonders what it might take to try to rehabilitate the whale. The animal might be moved to an aquarium where it could be treated for any illness or injury, she suggested.

Pilot whales are seen infrequently in Maine waters, Judy Allen, associate director of Allied Whale, said last week. The mammals are known to “strand” themselves in shallow water, but usually do so in groups. As adults, they grow to about 20 feet long.