Lost baby whale might die of hunger
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This may be one abandoned animal baby story that won’t have a happy ending. A baby humpback whale was found all alone, lost in the waters close to Sydney, Australia, most probably abandoned by its mom, according to The Australian. Just 2 to 3 weeks old, the whale calf is not yet weaned and tried to suckle on a whale-sized yacht which it mistook for its mom.
Staff at the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service led the baby back to deeper waters where there were other whales of its kind. At least out there, there is a slim chance that it will find its mom or gets adopted by another lactating whale. Unfortunately, the baby whale returned to the coast the following morning.
Unlike previous abandoned babies in zoos (see previous post), it would be practically impossible to “bottle feed” a baby of this size. If no one of its own kind adopts it and feed it, the baby whale would die of hunger within days.
This is very sad because the mother-calf bond is very strong. Whale calves usually suckle for 11 months before they are completely weaned. Cases of abandoned babies among cetaceans are very rare.
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