Abandoned whale calf put down

A baby humpback whale abandoned by its mother off Sydney's northern beaches has been put down.

The calf, nicknamed Colin, was found in the Pittwater Basin earlier this week and has been unable to feed since being separated from its mother.

Wildlife workers decided to kill the animal yesterday after its condition deteriorated rapidly. The whale was listless, unable to move properly and very distressed.

This morning the calf was found in The Basin and tranquillised, ropes were used to drag it across the bay, and it was euthanised on the beach.

The operation was carried out under strict security with a section of the park being closed and an exclusion zone being set up to stop boats from landing at The Basin.

The Environment Department says a small group of people gathered at Pittwater to voice their objections to the operation.

But the Department has defended its decision, saying it tried everything to save the whale before its condition deteriorated.

"They secured the whale with a rubber ducky, they gave it like a tranquilliser, they brought it across the bay and they lifted him out of the water on a stretcher with about 20 people," spokesman John Dengate said.

"Once he was on the land and unconscious they then administered the extra anaesthetic."

An examination will now be carried out to try and determine why the calf was abandoned by its mother.

The whale had been attempting to suckle yachts in Pittwater as its desperation for milk increased.

Various schemes, including towing it back to sea using inflatable Defence Force fuel bladders, had been proposed.

But the head of the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, Sally Barnes, says that putting Colin down was the right thing to do given the circumstances.

'Emotional decision'

Ms Barnes told Tony Eastley on ABC Radio's AM program that experts were put in a difficult position.

"Everyone is very connected to this animal and it is a very emotional decision," she said.

"It is a bit like if you have got a family pet, when the vet says to you, 'there is nothing more we can do' and the animal is suffering, then people obviously take different courses of action depending on their individual feelings.

"As the head of National Parks, I've taken the decision that I don't want to prolong the agony of this animal any more based on that expert advice."

Ms Barnes says experts looked at ways to rescue the calf.

"Over the week we have had a number of people from a number of groups come up with some suggestions and we have hunted those down internationally, talking to experts in San Diego and around the world," she said.

"Those options were on the table yesterday and we were still looking at all of those options, including yesterday I spoke with a group who are looking at how we could possibly feed it.

"The problem was that actually as I was speaking to that group, we got the word from the vets and the welfare specialists who are out looking at the whale saying it has now reached the stage where humanely we can't do anything for it."