SeaWorld Celebrates Anniversary of Grey Whale Rescued in Marina Del Rey

MARINA DEL REY, CA -- SeaWorld, which is on somewhat of a redemption tour of late after the 'Black Fish' controversy, celebrated the 18th anniversary of its biggest rescue success, J.J. the juvenile grey whale found stranded in Marina del Rey.

The whale, found severely dehydrated and near death on Jan. 10, 1997, was first named Marina before being renamed J.J. in honor of the late director of Friends of the Sea Lion Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, Judi Jones. SeaWorld's veterinarians had little hope for her, putting her chance at recovery at 4 percent.

But J.J. was a fighter, and miraculously started responding around-the-clock care. When she was first brought the park, the three-day-old calf weighed around 1,600 pounds, was hypoglycemic and comatose. Nearly 18 months later and about 20,000 heavier, it was time to release J.J. back to the wild.

Keeping her at SeaWorld was not an option. The tanks there are not big enough to hold a grey whale, which can grow to about 55-feet in length.

While she was a guest there, J.J. became a big sensation, giving visitors a rare chance to see a grey whale up close.

She was such a big celebrity in San Diego at the time that her release operation was described by Los Angeles Times reporter as part "part VIP motorcade, part military maneuver."

J.J. was released March 31, 1998, and the operation went so smoothly that one scientist called it "anticlimactic."

SeaWorld scientists had hoped to track the whale for several months as she treks north toward the Artic during the annual grey whale, but J.J. scraped off her transmitter a few days after being released.

J.J.'s rescue and rehabilitation is still one of SeaWorld's biggest success stories to date.

Lately, SeaWorld has been marred in controversies of its killer whale shows and Orca captive breeding program. Last month, the company said it will no longer breed killer whales in captivity and the shows will be transformed into an Orca encounter exhibit.

— Photos courtesy of SeaWorld