Baby humpback whale in poor condition

A baby whale that has been attempting to suckle boats in the waters off north Sydney, Australia may be euthanised because it is now in such poor condition.

Veterinarians and marine researchers have spent time examining the whale and sadly it is in much worse condition than originally thought. It has injuries which look like they were from a shark attack. Nicknamed Colin, the whale has dominated news coverage worldwide since it was first sighted last week in waters off Sydney.

A spokesperson for Marine Connection comments; "This whale is very young, weeks old, and will be starving. It should be feeding on its mother’s milk, taking in litres per day but not having fed for days, it will be weakening and losing weight rapdily. Humpback milk is 50% fat and quickly adds weight to the infants to enable them to continue long journeys. Its not as simple as taking the calf back out to sea, it is 100% reliant upon its mother at the moment."

Some Australians have accused wildlife officials of not doing enough to help the calf or trying to feed it and although everyone has fallen in love with this little whale, the animal's welfare is priority.