Abandoned baby whale to be humanely destroyed today

Sydney: A baby whale which has been desperately trying to suckle from a yacht in a Sydney bay in a futile bid to find its missing mother is to be humanely destroyed, Australian wildlife officers said on Thursday.

The humpback whale, nicknamed "Colin" by Australian media, was found at the weekend attempting to suckle from a moored yacht at Pittwater Bay after being abandoned by its mother off Australia's east coast.

"Our hearts are breaking with what's happening with baby Colin," New South Wales state premier Morris Iemma said after the military volunteered floats to try to get the calf back to sea earlier in the day.

But a report by expert vets said blood tests revealed the two-tonne calf, believed to be only two to three weeks old, was in poor condition and unlikely to live through the night. It was suffering from shark bite wounds and breathing difficulties.

A team of park rangers and marine scientists had then decided to put down the animal early today, state wildlife officials said.

"They'll need to locate it first, and the poor little guy could have passed away in the night," state Parks and Wildlife spokesman John Dengate told local media.

Authorities expected to use a lethal dose of anaesthetic.

With time running out and rescue efforts becoming more desperate, an Aboriginal "whale whisperer" was brought to the bay to "talk" to the calf. Colin had apparently responded, whisperer Bunna Lawrie recounted afterwards. He pleaded with authorities for a change of heart on killing the calf, saying there "was hope another whale could pick him up and adopt him".