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Confused baby whale will be euthanized
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by Amy Judd | August 19, 2008 at 01:11 pm
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UPDATE: 6:55PM EST - August 21
The confused baby whale, that the locals have nicknamed 'Colin' will be put down as it is just too distressed and confused to be saved. A sad ending to a very sad story.
Veterinarians and marine researchers who spent the afternoon examining the whale found that it would likely not live through the night, said Sally Barnes, deputy director-general of the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change.
"The calf was in much worse condition than they originally thought and the injuries were a lot worse than they thought as well, probably from a shark attack," she said. "We have taken the hard decision to put it down, unfortunately."
UPDATE: 1:01pm - August 20
After a few attempts from wildlife conservationists to lure the calf out to sea, the baby whale has again appeared in the inlet and is still distressed and trying to follow boats it thinks is its mother.
A hungry and abandoned humpback whale calf that has been trying to suckle from boats in the waters off north Sydney rebuffed fresh attempts by wildlife workers to return it to the open ocean Wednesday and appeared to be weakening.
PREVIOUSLY
A baby humpback whale is lost in the waters of Queensland, and wildlife experts have found it nuzzling up to yachts, because it thinks it's its mother.
The calf is about two months old, and has either been separated or abandoned by its mother, most likely during the breeding migration. Humpbacks go on a 20,000km round trip from the Antarctic to Queensland every year.
It was first spotted in Sydney's Pittwater Bay on Sunday trying to suckle from a whale-sized yacht, in a vain attempt to get a response from its "surrogate mother".
Yesterday, rangers used the yacht to lure the calf out to open sea in the hope it would find its mother or join other migrating humpbacks. But today, it was back in the same area, on the western shores of Pittwater, circling other yachts.
A spokesman for the department of national parks and wildlife, Chris McIntosh, said the 5m-long calf risked dying of hunger, being attacked by sharks, or beaching itself.
"The difficulty with this calf, in our view, is that it probably hasn't weaned itself from its mother and that is why it is taking to yachts. The prognosis isn't good," said McIntosh.
The humpback's dilemma has generated a huge outpouring of sympathy in Australia, with television and radio stations keeping a watching brief on the drama.
The calf will only survive for a few days without its mother's milk, and wildlife experts may have to put it down it if it becomes beached or too distressed.
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Recommendations (29)
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at 14:20 on August 19th, 2008
amyjudd, good story. What do you mean put it down? Kill it? There must be another way
at 14:50 on August 19th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff. Poor little thing, one can hope it will find a group of whales nearby.
Powdered Baby Formula would be an ideal way to give the baby whale nutrition either by saturating the water, or a large inflatable bladder with a feeding tube, wont be easy,but better than killing it.
at 14:39 on August 19th, 2008
The Humpback baby is off Sydney in Pittwater. Thats in NSW not Queensland
at 14:54 on August 19th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 15:00 on August 19th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff. Aw, bless!
at 16:33 on August 19th, 2008
Nice, thanx for the clip Vinny.
at 18:03 on August 19th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 18:22 on August 19th, 2008
I know - but apparently it will be too distressed to lead in another direction. So sad.
at 18:23 on August 19th, 2008
I'm not sure they've thought of that solution Barry! :)
at 00:53 on August 20th, 2008
arwen808 has contributed a photo to this story.
at 01:23 on August 20th, 2008
this whale needs 50 gallons of 52% milk fat every day. A 44 gallon drum would fit on that boat. the skipper seems really smart and sympathetic. Nursing this creature is simple enough. Let's do it.
at 01:26 on August 20th, 2008
Cow milk is 2% milk fat so we need to blend half the milk with half canola oil. And feed it from the underside of the boat.
at 01:31 on August 20th, 2008
These whales need to feed in a lagoon environment until the blubber is sufficiently built up to migrate later. It needs to stay around the basin area.
at 01:34 on August 20th, 2008
These whales need to feed in a lagoon environment until the blubber is sufficiently built up to migrate later. It needs to stay around the basin area. With 15000 left of these babies left we need to just do it yesterday...02 9356 3879.
at 03:10 on August 20th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 07:10 on August 20th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff. what a sad story. i hope they don't 'put it down' but find some solution for it to live.
at 08:05 on August 20th, 2008
This is a good story. Unfortunately it is very sad. The poor baby is suffering. I know that if they do put it down, it will be the only in the whales best interest. None of us like to see animals or humans for that matter, suffer.
at 07:51 on August 20th, 2008
so sad about this little baby.
at 16:42 on August 20th, 2008
This whale kept flapping its tail on the water. No sure why it was doing it but it sure was spectacular.
StephanDupont has contributed a photo to this story.
at 22:13 on August 20th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 07:55 on August 21st, 2008
We had a lost stranded whale swimming up the Thames last year. Experts tried to save it, but sadly, human intervention was just too traumatic for the poor creature and she died in the special hoist to transfer her in moist blankets by boat to try to carry her back out to sea. I cannot imagine this little baby humpback will fare any better.
at 19:47 on August 21st, 2008
This is a very sad situation, one that is felt most accutely by the National Parks and Wildlife Service staff who spent the past week trying to help this young whale. Despite the decision put the animal to sleep seeming to go against everything we stand for as human beings, rescuers always need to consider the best intertests of whale first. Without it's mother, the experts agree the animal would not survive. Humpback mothers are very protecive of their newborn and she is baby's only form of protection - so they stick together very closely at all times. During this time mothers teach young calves the skills they will need to survive when they get older. That is why finding abandonded calf like this suggests something is seriously wrong.
Initally rescuers had been able to lead the calf back out to sea hoping it might be able to be re-united with its mother. However, the mother could not be found nor another whale pod which might adopt it. To the dismay of everyone the calf was discovered back inshore nuzzling moored boats the next day.
Lots of options where considered to try and save this whale. Unfortunately, there was no aqauria facilities large engough to be able to take an animal expected to grow to over 40 tonnes and 12 metres, 4 times its current size, and live for over 40 years.
While it may have been possible to feed the animal short-term, one effect would be only confirmed to this calf that boats = food and safety. Therefore, if the young whale appoached a boat which had its motor running, seeking food it would be at risk of serious injury, or worse, from the propeller.
The other significant issue would be weaning on to solid food. Humpback whales eat krill which is why they migrate to many thousand of kilometres to the Antarctic. Krill is just not available off Sydney.
I hope this helps people appreaciate some of the limitations and, unfortunate as the outcome has been in this case, the committment of rescuers in working though this complex situation for the best possible outcome.
at 14:29 on August 22nd, 2008
Thank you for the update, npwsnorthernmarine and amyjudd. Yes, at moments like these we realise that these are sentient beings.
at 11:35 on April 30th, 2009
Arwen Adamson,
Thank you for your contribution of your photos to this article. I appriciate your HEART in this matter. ...and as long as discussion keeps going about our Neighbors in this Earth of ours, we can truly be Caretakers. Thanks again,
Terry