Sub-adult towed off sandbar remains in lake
Rescuers have moved a young humpback whale stuck on the beach to deeper water, but while the animal is swimming freely, it has yet to find its way back to the ocean.
During the first part of its annual humpback migration, the subadult whale entered the Coolongolook River near Forster late Sunday and washed ashore on a beach in shallow waters on Monday afternoon.
Three rescue teams from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), Australia’s Marine Mammal Rescue and Research Organization (ORRCA), Sea World Foundation and Forster Dive Center successfully refloated the animal on Tuesday.
Whale season officially begins in May, but the first sightings of humpback whales swimming north past Sydney began in March, at the early start of the season. Humpback whales usually spend their summers in Antarctica, where their favorite food (Antarctic krill) is abundant, and then return to warm waters to winter and breed.
Wayne Phillips, Head of Marine Science at the Sea World Foundation, said the whale had been on the beach for about 24 hours before rescuers arrived and suffered sunburn.
“Our first port of call was to make the whale as comfortable as possible, so we started getting the animal wet and also to see if it could get out of the sand with some human intervention,” Phillips said.
“Unfortunately, our efforts to catch it or encourage it to move away from the sand were unsuccessful, so we decided we needed to pull the animal from that anchor.
“We placed several large slings around these huge pectoral fins and then used our boat to drag the animal out of the bar.”
Phillips said it took two tries for the whale to begin swimming freely, and the animal gained strength in deeper waters.
It is not uncommon for whales to swim into harbors, lakes and rivers. Phillips said the April stranding was premature but was probably just bad luck.
An NPWS spokesman said there were no visible signs of injury or entanglement in the approximately 9.5-metre-long, 12-ton whale.
He was still in Wallis Lake on Wednesday morning, but rescuers were hoping high tides would help him get out to sea. Phillips said it was unlikely to back down now that he understood the risks in the region.
A spokesperson for NPWS said it was following up on the situation with other government agencies, ORRCA and Sea World. If necessary, the Forster-Tuncurry Bridge at Head Street will be temporarily closed to ensure the safe passage of the whale.
An NPWS spokesman said all vessels and drones, including stand-up paddleboards and surfboard riders, must stay 100 meters away from the whale, while jet skis must stay 300 meters away.
Get to the bottom of what’s happening with climate change and the environment. Sign up for our bi-weekly Environment newsletter.
Caitlin Fitzsimmons is the environment and climate correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously a social affairs reporter and Money editor.Connect via email.
