Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Baby humpback whale mistakes yacht for mother

A baby humpback whale has apparently mistaken a yacht for its mother.

Rescuers in Australia are monitoring the whale calf, which was spotted off Sydney's northern beaches.

The whale is estimated to be about one to two months old and has now been successfully lured out to the entrance of Broken Bay by the yacht, which rescuers say the calf had been trying to suckle on.



Rescuers say they will continue to monitor the creature.

Officials with Australia's National Parks and Wildlife Service said the calf 's condition had deteriorated and it needed to find a pod or its mother so it could feed.

Observers say the calf has mistaken an 11 metre (36 foot) yacht for its mother, swimming around the boat and nuzzling it. National Parks and Wildlife rescuers stepped in and towed the "mother substitute" yacht away from the harbour.

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