Sad end for baby whale in Sydney

A baby whale was discovered off a beach in Sydney, and around the canals about 5 days ago. She was named Colin, but it was changed to Colette after discovering she was female. She had been trying to suckle boats - they assume she was looking for her mother They tried taking it out to the ocean to find her mother, but she just turned around and swam back toward the beaches. They thought about trying it again, but this time trying to find another pod with a lactating female whale, but the odds of finding a whale who could and would take care of her that just happened to be passing by were slim to none.

They discussed taking it to a zoo to be taken care of as was done in San Diego in a similar situation years ago, but they did not have the facilities to be able to - apparently you need a tank just the right size, be able to accommodate its growth, have the right sort of baby whale formula, and have experts to care for it around the clock for months. The whale was already in a bad state, and looked like sharks had already had a go at her

So they made the decision to euthanise the whale. Apparently they gave it a sedative in the water, then dragged her up the beach to properly euthanise her. Apparently she was not well sedated, and was thrashing and trying to blow out her blow hole the entire way up the beach

Apparently everyone watching, including the wildlife officers, were in tears, and quite traumatised.

The one good thing is that National Parks and Wildlife Services admitted they made mistakes in handling it as it was something they had never dealt with before, and are looking at having a whale summit in the future with experts from around the world to learn how to deal with stranded whales better.

The really sad news is that a dead adult whale washed up on the shore south of where the baby was, and they're going to do DNA testing to see if it's the baby's mother, which would explain why the baby was abandoned.

RIP Colette and mum, sorry we weren't able to help you

Here's a couple of links:

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599...76-421,00.html

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5...G7NmRr0u1nN3gw

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599...13-421,00.html

I saw that on the news last night. It's really sad isn't it.

Thats absolutely awfull!!! Theres no one who can help a whale?? Wow I really thought there would be somewhere!! The poor thing... The poor mom... RIP Baby Whale Collete, Im so sorry you had to suffer

I was so sad to hear that she was to be euthanized, but local news here reported that apparently she was also pretty chewed up by a shark attack (which was likely how she was seperated from her mom), and that only reinforced their descision to euthanize.

RIP little Collette

Apparently a baby whale drinks 230 litres (61 gallons) of its mothers milk a day - to keep it alive when it's already sick, keep it healthy, and provide the right nutrition when you've never done it before is a huge ask.

I hope next time they euthanise it earlier - having it so sick and stressed for 5 days must have been horrible for the baby.

Originally Posted by sarahp

Apparently a baby whale drinks 230 litres (61 gallons) of its mothers milk a day - to keep it alive when it's already sick, keep it healthy, and provide the right nutrition when you've never done it before is a huge ask.

I hope next time they euthanise it earlier - having it so sick and stressed for 5 days must have been horrible for the baby.

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Yup, chewed to pieces and starving, it suffered long and hard. Hopefully the knowledge and facilities, maybe a whale rescue center or something! In the mean time the only piece of mind is knowing that she is no longer suffering!

And if she was out in the wild when separated from her mother, or at a beach where there were no people, she would have suffered even more I daresay.