TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Humpback whales embark on some of the longest migrations of any mammal on Earth. But for perhaps the first time in history, a pod is about to migrate over land dozens of miles, from Tallahassee to the Gulf Coast.
The pod in question has spent the last two decades resting in a Tallahassee front yard. Bill Brinson sculpted the quartet as a tribute to the lives lost in the 9/11 terror attacks. Back in September, WCTV profiled Brinson and his unique tribute to the fallen.
After 25 years roaming a Tallahassee front yard, a pod of four humpback whale sculptures will be moved to Panacea.(Jacob Murphey/WCTV)
Gulf Specimen Marine Lab Founder Jack Rudloe happened to be watching.
Rudloe’s legendary career studying marine life has spanned more than half a century. But right now, he’s engaged in an unusual mission.
After his aquarium’s old sign off Highway 98 in Panacea had to be removed following a land dispute, he needed to come up with a new eye-catching display.
He bought a new tract of land off the highway, commissioned a Florida artist to sculpt some marine life, and thought that was that.
But then he saw the whales.
“Totally unexpected. We had no idea that was going to happen,” Rudloe said.
He reached out to William Green, a Tallahassee businessman and current owner of the whales.
“What would it take to get the whales, or could we have your whales?” he asked.
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Turns out, it wouldn’t take much.
Green was sold. “I immediately thought, this is the place,” he told WCTV.
“Being very specific and memorialized there in Panacea and at the marine lab, I think will be a bigger story than they do here.”
Now, a true community effort is in the works to make this migration happen.
Rudloe said Fielder Tree Service has offered free cranes and transport down to Panacea and the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office has offered a free escort.
“It’s miraculous how the community is coming together between Tallahassee and down here,” he said.
Rudloe has never been afraid of dreaming big. Now, in addition to a swordfish and octopus piece already created, he thinks the whales could be the crowning piece of his roadside display.
“We want to create a sort of terrestrial ocean here where you have whales jumping, you have fish migrating, and we’re going to have a mermaid,” he said.
After 25 years roaming a Tallahassee front yard, a pod of four humpback whale sculptures will be moved to Panacea.(Jacob Murphey/WCTV)
Rudloe said he hopes the vibrant new piece will attract new visitors to Panacea, while also still honoring the whale’s original purpose of inspiration and reflection.
“We want that preserved and put right here. It’s not just about another attraction of, hey, look at these different creatures.”
The timeline is still getting ironed out. But the hope is the whales will be on the move in November.
Rudloe wants to refurbish the whales, restore them as proper fountains, and add water vapor blowholes and loudspeakers to play whale songs.
All of that will take extra funding. “We don’t have the money to go on with all the stuff we want to do.”
So now, he’s seeking donations to make his one-of-a-kind underwater land ocean a reality.
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