Young whale that went astray in river is female

Skin samples taken from the two humpback whales that took a 90-mile detour up the Sacramento River last month showed the younger of the two, believed to be a mother and calf, was a female, officials said.

Biopsy results also revealed that the pair belonged to a population that feeds off the coast of California and were not lost members of a herd from farther north, the nonprofit Marine Mammal Center reported.

Authorities have not released a final cost for the two-week effort -- involving state, federal and local agencies -- to urge the injured whales back to sea.

A preliminary estimate puts the state’s share at $236,000.