JJ The Whale Retires From Showbiz

JJ the Whale is getting ready to leave the stage and head for the high seas.

After a long stint at Sea World, the mammal is being released from the San Diego aquarium.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone while JJ waits in a huge holding tank. The zone, designed to protect the whale, will keep vessels 500-yards from the Coast Guard cutter "Conifer" as JJ swims to join a pod of her fellow migrating gray whales.

Weather permitting, the plan is to take JJ out to sea on Thursday.

More from CBS News