Baby humpback whale picks surrogate Mom

At least this is more interesting than those damn dolphins in the Shrewsbury.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/i/t.gif :D

Humpack whale calf mistakes boat for its mum


Last Updated: 3:01pm BST 19/08/2008




Rescuers in Australia are trying to save a baby humpback whale which has taken a shine to a moored yacht, possibly mistaking the vessel for its lost mother.

The whale calf was found at Pittwater, north of Sydney, after apparently being abandoned by its mother off the Australian east coast.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/gra...eawhale119.jpgAttempts were made to lure the whale calf out to sea by towing the boat into open ocean"The calf has spent the last day or so in Pittwater and we believe it has been nuzzling up to a moored vessel in an attempt to find milk," said Chris McIntosh, local manager for the New South Wales state national parks service.
A team of workers towed the private yacht out to sea to try to lure the calf into deeper water in the hope that it would find its mother, but it was spotted close to the beach at Pittwater again on Tuesday.
Experts said the baby whale cannot survive more than a few days without milk.
Mr McIntosh said while it was distressing, it was natural for some animals to abandon their young.
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"The best thing we can do is to shepherd the animal and hope it remains in the ocean," he said.
Female whales give birth to a single calf, and a nursing period of more than one year for many species creates a strong bond between a mother and its young.

Well the whale is dead, story over.

Injured lost baby whale euthanized in Australia

By KRISTEN GELINEAU – 17 hours ago
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — An injured and abandoned baby humpback whale was euthanized by wildlife officials Friday after veterinarians determined it was too weak to survive on its own.
The plight of the whale calf, which Australians have nicknamed "Colin," has dominated news coverage here since it was first sighted Sunday and began trying to suckle from boats it apparently mistook for its mother.
Friday morning, the 14-foot-long animal was guided close to the shore and could be seen thrashing about. Officials reached out to stroke the calf before others hoisted it onto a tarp. The whale was then pulled into a tent on the beach and gray tarps were hung to obscure the operation.
Roger Bell, spokesman for the National Parks and Wildlife Service, said the animal was given an anesthetic in the water before a lethal drug was administered on shore. He said it died around 9 a.m.
"The whale suffered as little as possible," he told The Associated Press.
"Shame! Shame!" cried Brett Devine, a rescue worker who had hoped to feed the whale via a tube.
Eight maritime police boats patrolled the waters to keep the public and media from approaching.
"It's a tragic end to a program that dozens of people have put their hearts and souls into," John Dengate of the wildlife service told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
Officials believe the 1- to 2-month-old calf was abandoned by its mother, possibly because it was ill. Wildlife officials said it appeared the whale had also been attacked by a shark.
It spent days among the yachts and other boats in the waters off north Sydney, swimming back to the boats each time officials lured it out to sea in the hope it would attach to a passing pod of humpback whales.
"As the calf is still being breast fed, we have no way of feeding or socializing it, so taking this humpback into captivity is not an option," the National Parks and Wildlife Service said in a statement this week.
On Thursday, veterinarians and marine researchers who examined the whale found that its condition was deteriorating quickly and that euthanizing it was the most humane option.
"We have a whale whose condition has deteriorated rapidly over the last 24 hours, and who now experts are telling us is suffering, and we've had to make the hard decision to euthanize the whale," Barnes told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio Friday morning. "It's a very emotional decision."
She said officials had sought national and international advice on how to help the lost whale but its condition had become too poor to treat.
Some Australians have accused wildlife officials of not doing enough to help the calf and not trying to feed it. A few people designed feeding mechanisms, many gave advice, and some journeyed to Pittwater Inlet just to watch the lonely calf.
On Thursday, Aboriginal whale whisperer Bunna Lawrie tried to soothe the listless animal. Adorned with feathers on his head and white paint markings on his face, Lawrie reached into the water to stroke Colin while singing a humming, tongue-rolling tune.
But after a few minutes the whale swam away to nuzzle a nearby yacht.