Whale mistakes yacht for Mummy
While surfing news site for Olympic news I stumbled across this…
Observers say the whale has mistaken a yacht for its mother. (Nine)
A humpback whale calf has lost its mother and is struggling with injuries within Sydney’s Pittwater inlet.
The calf may be just one month old and has most likely injured itself by rubbing up against boats at Pittwater.
Observers say the calf has mistaken an 11m yacht for its mother, swimming around the boat and nuzzling it.
The National Parks and Wildlife say it is most likely the calf has been abandoned by its mother because it was not well.
“It is only one to two months old and would not have been weaned yet from its mother. The outlook is not good, but we are giving the calf its only option,” said regional manager Chris McIntosh.
“It can’t be fed, and in fact we wouldn’t know what to feed it.”
“We are towing its mother substitute out to deeper waters in the hope it may hook up with another whale or may find its mother.”
A NSW Department of Environment spokesperson urged the public to stay away from the young whale.
The annual whale migration season is underway and several have been spotted off Sydney beaches in recent days.
Humpbacks breed every one to three years, with a gestation period lasting up to 12 months.
Scientists believe the mammals can live up to 80 years.
Let’s hope the authorities can get this young whale a real adoptive mother somewhere out to sea.
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