Wildlife Officials Euthanize Abandoned Baby Whale

SYDNEY, Australia — The baby humpback whale was starving, injured and hours from death. So despite anguished cries of "Murder!" and "Shame!" from protesters who thought it could still be saved, wildlife officials on Friday euthanized the animal, which had strayed into the waters off north Sydney nearly a week ago.

The decision to end the calf's life, first sighted in the inlet on Sunday, closed a story that exposed divided opinions over what should have been done for the whale, nicknamed "Colin."

Attempts to tow the 1- to 2-month-old calf out to sea failed, as it continued to try to suckle from boats it apparently mistook for its mother. A few people designed feeding mechanisms they hoped could deliver nourishment to the animal, but officials deemed artificial nursing impossible. An Aboriginal whale whisperer tried to soothe the creature, patting it while singing a humming, tongue-rolling tune _ but Colin swam away to nuzzle another boat.

By Friday morning, the whale was starving, riddled with parasites, appeared to have been attacked by sharks, and had drifted into very shallow waters, said Sally Barnes, deputy director-general of the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change. There was no other choice but to end the whale's misery, she said.

"It's a very sad day _ it's a very emotional day," a weary-looking Barnes said as she stood in the rain soon after the 14-foot-long creature was dragged to a beach. "People have become very attached to this whale."

Wildlife officials in half a dozen boats corralled the creature into an area near the shore and injected it with a sedative. The whale could be seen thrashing and struggling in the chilly, gray waters as workers began towing it toward the beach. Several slowly stroked the animal's back, before hoisting it onto the beach and administering a lethal injection.

Gray tarps were hung around the animal's body to obstruct the view of journalists and protesters in nearby boats. Media were blocked from accessing the inlet by land, and maritime police patrolled the waters to stop boats from approaching.

The body was later sent to Sydney's Taronga Zoo for an examination.

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"Shame! Shame!" yelled Brett Devine, a marine salvage and rescue worker who had hoped to feed the whale a milk and krill concoction via a tube that lay unused on his boat.

"It's shameful what we've done here today," he said angrily. "It's very un-Australian. It's disgusting."

Barnes and other marine experts defended the euthanasia, insisting the whale died in the most humane way possible.

"This animal needed to be destroyed," said Steve Coleman, an official with the animal welfare group RSPCA. "It was cruel to keep it alive."

Officials believe the calf was abandoned by its mother, possibly because she was ill. The parks service was investigating reports of an adult whale carcass being eaten by sharks off the coast of the southern state of Victoria on Friday, Barnes said. Officials hoped to collect a DNA sample from the whale to determine whether it was the mother.

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Associated Press writer Tanalee Smith contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

National Parks and Wildlife Service: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/nationalparks.htm