The dramatic story was told on the evening news. Separated from her mother, a baby gray whale had been hopelessly stranded on a California beach. Fortunately, the whale was rescued and brought to SeaWorld of California in San Diego, where she was named J.J. and nursed back to health.
J.J. was the first baby gray whale to be raised in a marine park, and for months she was the park’s star attraction. But her caregivers knew that this gray whale would someday grow too large to live in captivity. Could J.J. be returned to the ocean–and learn to live on her own?
January 11, 2017 was the twentieth anniversary of J.J.’s rescue. It is considered one of the most successful rescue and rehabilitation stories in SeaWorld history.