New York Mermaid
06-07-2012, 06:35 PM
http://images.smh.com.au/2012/06/07/3355766/art-Whale-201-420x0.jpg
As they poured buckets of sea water over its belly in the early hours of the morning, Fraser Island residents also did their best to comfort a crying baby humpback whale after it became stranded on the beach.
Dawn Boreham was among three car loads of residents who braved the chilly onshore winds once the tide fell about 3am yesterday in a bid to rescue the stranded mammal.
‘‘We honestly thought it was dead when we got there, and then it started moving,’’ she said.
http://images.smh.com.au/2012/06/07/3355793/art-whale3-420x0.jpg
‘‘You just couldn’t leave an animal alive by itself - that would just be really cruel ...
‘‘We started pouring water on it, and it started crying. It was awful actually.
‘‘We were all crying. It was very sad
Rangers suspect the five-tonne whale, which was likely bound for warmer northern waters, may have been herded to shore by a pack of sharks and then pushed onto the sand on eastern side of the island near Happy Valley by the high tide late Tuesday afternoon.
‘‘[Park rangers] really tried to get it back in the water with the high tide on Tuesday night,’’ Ms Boreham said.
‘‘But there were bronze whaler sharks out there - and they’re really big - and at the time the [rangers] were in chest-high water. So for their own safety they had to get out.’’
Yesterday, rescuers dug a trench between the waterline and where the eight-metre juvenile whale was stranded on a beach, hoping it could make its way back into the sea.
But a large swell overnight made the delicate operation even more difficult and the whale died early this morning, the National Parks and Wildlife Service confirmed.
‘‘It was too tired I’d suggest,’’ Ms Boreham said.
‘‘It had been up there for 36 hours and it was only a baby. I believe it was from last year’s lot of babies, so it was probably just 12 months old.’’
Ms Boreham said she had never seen a stranded live whale in her two years on the island.
Marine experts and rangers did their best to keep the whale wet, cool and calm for more than 24 hours, but had considered euthanasing the exhausted animal and had consulted Sea World vets.
The scene attracted a large crowd of sympathetic tourists, who were keen to help, but turned away by rangers due to the nature of the rescue effort.
‘‘At least they’re trying to do something for him ... it’s a bit sad really,’’ tourist Roger Rosenthal told Seven News yesterday
As they poured buckets of sea water over its belly in the early hours of the morning, Fraser Island residents also did their best to comfort a crying baby humpback whale after it became stranded on the beach.
Dawn Boreham was among three car loads of residents who braved the chilly onshore winds once the tide fell about 3am yesterday in a bid to rescue the stranded mammal.
‘‘We honestly thought it was dead when we got there, and then it started moving,’’ she said.
http://images.smh.com.au/2012/06/07/3355793/art-whale3-420x0.jpg
‘‘You just couldn’t leave an animal alive by itself - that would just be really cruel ...
‘‘We started pouring water on it, and it started crying. It was awful actually.
‘‘We were all crying. It was very sad
Rangers suspect the five-tonne whale, which was likely bound for warmer northern waters, may have been herded to shore by a pack of sharks and then pushed onto the sand on eastern side of the island near Happy Valley by the high tide late Tuesday afternoon.
‘‘[Park rangers] really tried to get it back in the water with the high tide on Tuesday night,’’ Ms Boreham said.
‘‘But there were bronze whaler sharks out there - and they’re really big - and at the time the [rangers] were in chest-high water. So for their own safety they had to get out.’’
Yesterday, rescuers dug a trench between the waterline and where the eight-metre juvenile whale was stranded on a beach, hoping it could make its way back into the sea.
But a large swell overnight made the delicate operation even more difficult and the whale died early this morning, the National Parks and Wildlife Service confirmed.
‘‘It was too tired I’d suggest,’’ Ms Boreham said.
‘‘It had been up there for 36 hours and it was only a baby. I believe it was from last year’s lot of babies, so it was probably just 12 months old.’’
Ms Boreham said she had never seen a stranded live whale in her two years on the island.
Marine experts and rangers did their best to keep the whale wet, cool and calm for more than 24 hours, but had considered euthanasing the exhausted animal and had consulted Sea World vets.
The scene attracted a large crowd of sympathetic tourists, who were keen to help, but turned away by rangers due to the nature of the rescue effort.
‘‘At least they’re trying to do something for him ... it’s a bit sad really,’’ tourist Roger Rosenthal told Seven News yesterday