Animal experts, lifeguards, and members of the public have rushed to Puckeys Beach, North Wollongong today after discovering a baby whale had beached itself on the shore.
Believed to be a newborn humpback, the whale was reportedly found on Thursday morning when it was first spotted by a member of the public. According to reports, the calf was pushed back out into deeper water but it re-beached itself soon after.
Being that the baby is only 3.9 metres long, an excavator was used to carefully move the whale away from the rocky area it had re-beached itself in.
Rescuers include ORRCA representatives and National Parks and Wildlife staff. A vet from Sydney’s Taronga Zoo will check on the little baby as soon as possible. Until then, rescuers have been keeping the baby whale hydrated.
Earlier, beach-goers had assisted in the rescue by collecting buckets of water to keep the calf hydrated.
ORRCA spokeswoman Michelle Toms told the ABC the whale was most likely unwell because a “healthy whale couldn’t be displaying this behaviour, it’s not good.”
Toms also believes the baby could have become separated from its mother for multiple reasons:
“Anything could have happened to it — it could have lost its mum, its mum could have died, or become separated or chased by a shark — [there are] a lot of unknowns.”
Wollongong Council’s posted news of the stranded baby whale to their Facebook page, earlier today:
Local paper, Illawarra Mercury also uploaded footage of the ongoing rescue to their Facebook page:
Rescuers are currently awaiting the vet’s assessment.
Yesterday, a sub-adult humpback whale was cut free from a 100 metre rope after becoming entangled in it on Tuesday morning near Cape Solander. The humpback was freed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service team.