A California gray whale has wandered into San Diego Bay after migration season is over.
Coast Guard officials say boaters spotted the whale Tuesday afternoon and gathered nearby to warn ship traffic away.
The San Diego Harbor Patrol is trying to herd the whale back out to sea, and says that the receding tide will help its efforts.
Joe Cordero, a marine biologist with the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, says gray whales occasionally stray during their Pacific migration from Alaska, where they feed during the summer. Sometimes the whales head to Baja California, where their calves are born during the winter.
Usually, whales finish their migration by the end of February.
There was no indication the wayward whale was injured.
