Rescuers in Australia are trying to save a baby humpback whale which they say took a shine to a moored yacht, possibly mistaking the vessel for its lost mother. The whale calf was found at Pittwater, north of Sydney, after apparently being abandoned by its mother off the Australian east coast. “The calf has spent the last day or so in Pittwater and we believe it has been nuzzling up to a moored vessel in an attempt to find milk,” said Chris McIntosh, local manager for the New South Wales state national parks service. A team of workers towed the private yacht out to sea to try to lure the calf into deeper water in the hope that it would find its mother, but it was spotted close to the beach at Pittwater again on Tuesday. Experts said the baby whale cannot survive more than a few days without milk. McIntosh said while it was distressing, it was natural for some animals to abandon their young. “The best thing we can do is to shepherd the animal and hope it remains in the ocean,” he said. Female whales give birth to a single calf, and a nursing period of more than one year for many species creates a strong bond between a mother and its young.
