Lost baby whale thinks yacht is mom

Whether or not you think its right to interfer with the animal kingdoms natural way.

Think of this.

We are evolved. We are CAPABLE of saving this creature. Its a big animal, it will get bigger. If everyone is so convinced it will die anyway, why not try harder?

I am an office jnr. I work just 15mins from Pittwater Bay where this baby whale is stranded.

Myself and my co-workers are wanting to start a fundraiser to help.
We dont see a reason *except* that the right people dont have the money to aquire the resources - or just the food suppliment to help this creature.

Isnt that what it comes down to? Money.

Spare a little here and there. Im sure alot of people could. I wish i knew more about the biological side of this, and i am trying to learn as much as i can as quickly as i can, to help this poor creature.

Does no one agree?

Your heart is in the right place, no doubt, and I appreciate what you are trying to do.

But it comes down to a lot more than money. Please read our previous posts as to why it can be dangerous to interfere with nature's course in this case.

We (and I use this as the human "we") are trying to aid this calf in making its way back to open ocean and a thriving life, but there is still no guarantee that such a thing is possible. Leading this calf out into the ocean is really its only chance at a healthy and normal cetacean life.

I understand that this story tugs at the heartstrings, because it does the same for me. I have always loved marine life, and entered college with the intention to study marine biology. But in maters of life and death in the aquatic world, we have to act on the most probable chance of survival, even if it doesn't seem to be the easiest to take.

Welcome to Talk Delaware, and I hope you'll continue to post in the future.

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Update
(CNN) -- An abandoned baby whale that has been trying to suckle from yachts in an Australian harbor appeared to be weakening Wednesday as wildlife workers considered ways to save it.
The lost humpback whale calf swims around an area north of Sydney Harbour on Wednesday.





Unless rescue workers can come up with a plan soon, the starving 2-week-old calf might have to be put to death, officials said.
"It's a really sad and difficult situation," said a spokeswoman for the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC), who spoke on condition of anonymity, as is customary.
"It's caught the heart of Australians, and at the moment the public is really, really desperately wanting something to save the whale."
Humpback whales are in the middle of their annual migration from the Antarctic to tropical waters to breed and then back again.
The calf was first spotted Sunday in waters off Sydney. Officials think it most likely was abandoned by its mother but aren't sure why.
On Monday, it was seen nuzzling up to a moored vessel in an attempt to find milk, the DECC said. Watch the abandoned baby whale »
Wildlife officials towed the boat out to sea, and the calf followed. They had hoped that the baby would link up with a passing group of humpback whales.
But the calf, unable to find its mother or another lactating female willing to be a surrogate, returned to the harbor Tuesday.
On Wednesday, officials tried once again to lure the calf to open waters. But it refused to follow the wildlife officials' boat.
"It obviously feels very secure in the harbor," the spokeswoman said.
An expert from Sydney's Taronga Zoo examined the whale and determined that while it was not suffering undue stress, it was getting weaker due to lack of food.
Now officials are hoping to use an inflatable sling to tow the calf farther out to sea, where it stands a greater chance of being reunited with its mother.
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"Maybe -- just maybe -- we will have some luck," the spokeswoman said. "It is possible -- it might not be probable -- but it's possible that it could be picked up and adopted."
Some Australians have suggested that wildlife officials take the animal into captivity, but that is unlikely to yield results, said Chris McIntosh of the National Parks and Wildlife Services.
"As the calf is still being breast fed, we have no way of feeding or socializing it," McIntosh said in a news release. "So taking this humpback into captivity is not an option."




Calves suckle for 11 months and are "very very attached to their mothers," the spokeswoman said.
"Unless it can go out to open water and find a mother, I don't really know what's going to happen."

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WARNING: Someone who cares about me is well trained in the use of their weapon and accurate at 800 meters.

This is me.

I have a feeling when i get home my beta fish will be dead he was awfully lethargic lookin last night and didn't eat when i gave him his food

/random fish though

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Philly Sports

todays update
Colin the whale vanishes ahead of lethal injection

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Officials who had planned to euthanize an injured and abandoned baby whale postponed the operation Thursday night after being unable to find the animal in the dark waters off north Sydney.
The lost humpback whale calf swims around an area north of Sydney Harbour on Wednesday.





Geoff Ross, a wildlife management officer, said the whale was likely frightened and confused by the searchlights and the sound of the boats so they decided it would be easier to find the baby in the daylight.
That is, if it survives the night.
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."
But after planning the logistics of the euthanizing in the early evening, officials were unable to find the whale in the dark waters.
The plight of the whale, 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.
"Our hearts are breaking with what's happening with baby Colin," New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma said. "It's looking bleak, but every effort is being made."
One effort came from Aboriginal whale whisperer Bunna Lawrie, who visited the calf Thursday afternoon. 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.
"He's missing the big fellas," said Lawrie, whose visit was broadcast on Channel 10 television.
The decision to euthanize the whale prompted a strong protest from a rescue group that designed a feeding apparatus intended to provide milk to the ailing calf. Watch the abandoned baby whale »
"You said you'd give us a 24-hour stay of execution!" Brett Devine, a member of Devine Marine Group, shouted as environmental officials tried to calm him.
Some Australians have accused wildlife officials of not doing enough to help the calf or trying to feed it.
Previous attempts to guide the whale back to open waters have failed, with the creature preferring to stick close to the boats. Officials with the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service were considering earlier Thursday whether to use an inflatable sling to tow the creature into deeper waters, where it would have a better chance of connecting with other whales.
But in the end, there simply was no other option to euthanasia, a grim-looking Barnes said.
"This is certainly not what we would have hoped. We would have hoped that the animal would have been OK," Barnes said. "It's a very emotional thing."
As darkness fell, wildlife officials and veterinarians huddled in a private meeting to work out the logistics of the whale's fate. They planned to sedate the animal, tow it to shore, and inject a dose of fatal drugs into its heart.
But after two hours of looking in the dark for the whale, they suspended the search until Friday morning.




A Sydney couple stood on the dock watching the search. Agata Hardy, 36, said she burst into tears upon hearing that Colin would be euthanized.
"If he was a human who was starving, would we do this? We would feed him," she said.

You know that fish was active as can be this morning....

He sat on top of our microwave for like a year so I think he may be radioactive, LOL

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