# Save the infant whale



## wobbly (Jun 13, 2007)

Geez,

some subjects get up my nose!

We have a country full of good people who rejoice the beauty and natural wonders of Australia, we have charity run organisations who care for the country, we have international organisations that go into bat for us to protect our natural heritage like greenpeace and we have a pathetic government who we elected to pay lip service to us yet actively pander to the powerful nations, spend trillions on weapons of destruction yet do next to nothing to save our natural heritage or try to save a helpless 2 week old whale who is starving to death. Why cant we have real leaders who can send a powerful message to the world that we care for our planet and the living world and not just focus on trends like carbon reduction. What message is this robotic state and federal government saying to us about our natural world, to me they need to forget about balancing a spreadsheet, or making one less bomb and instead think about caring and be in tune with what the electorate care about and make a huge baby feeding bottle and fill it with mashed sardines or whaterever but do it quickly and show the world that we are capable of attempting to preserve our natural world when it really counts.

How pathetic is this country! It would not happen any where else on this planet.

Its off my chest, where do I send my protest?

Brian


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## redman (Jun 5, 2008)

MAte I'm sure if they could the Greenies and all the other Wildlife carers would be helping it but it is near impossible to feed Milk to a whale that size - even a baby whale is as big as alot of yachts and boats. As it hasn't been weaned it still needs milk and not plankton etc that they normally feed on. THe sad truth is there is really nothing that can be done and if it starves then so be it - it happens every day to all living things - we cant save every animal every time. As much as I'd like it to survive it will have to do it on its own.

Cheers,

Redman


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

I wonder if they eat SX40's?


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## theclick (Jun 25, 2007)

To be quite honest, I think they should leave it alone anyway.

There is no proof (and it's unlikely) that human interference has been the cause of it losing it's mother, thus it is safe to assume that it is merely part of nature. it is not our role, or our right to get involved in things we didn't impact up on, and it also has potential to do damage to populations.

What is the difference between a baby whale who has lost it's mother, and a baby duckling who has done the same? A couple of tons and alot more media coverage. It's a natural process, so let it be.

Great whites rely on the whale migration as part of their food source and their migration. one of the major targets is baby whales, thus by removing and 'saving' every baby whale in trouble, you are probably condemning and throwing the natural process of the threatened great white shark out too.

Andy


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## redman (Jun 5, 2008)

RIght on Andy - THe Circle of Life :lol:


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

they could tow it out into international waters, just south of japan.

it should be safe there. :shock:


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## Slim (Mar 4, 2008)

The whale that the Yanks saved was in fact a Grey Whale...very different indeed. Years ago the paper would have talked about the bountyof young whale flesh that was easy pickings just off the coast. Put the damn thing out of it's misery and hit it with a AP50calibre


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## Crazy_Horse (Nov 3, 2006)

What baby whale?

Has Bronwyn Bishop been on the Tim Tams again?


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

Crazy_Horse said:


> What baby whale?


for the interstate members

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24 ... 42,00.html


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

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## Sparkie (Jul 8, 2008)

Slim said:


> The whale that the Yanks saved was in fact a Grey Whale...very different indeed. Years ago the paper would have talked about the bountyof young whale flesh that was easy pickings just off the coast. Put the damn thing out of it's misery and hit it with a AP50calibre


 I agree. better a quick death than slow starvation. Imagine the pain it will feel when sharks start to get into it?


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## colzinho (Aug 6, 2007)

call this lady

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/sto ... id=3611466


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## Sparkie (Jul 8, 2008)

colzinho said:


> call this lady
> 
> http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/sto ... id=3611466


What a thought. With my imagination I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight ;-)


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## mcbigg (Jul 14, 2007)

Whale oil beef hooked!


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

This was the begining of a thread on a different forum:


> Ok, so the heading is deliberately provocative. But lets think it through:
> 
> Firstly: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=616171 for those who are not aware of the situation.
> 
> ...


Make of it what you will, personally I agree, just don't let the Japenese do it as they won't release there findings to the world.


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## L3GACY (Sep 2, 2007)

When we had to put a couple horses down (one wasn't going to recover from injuries and the other was heavily reliant on the first as well as having cancer) they ended up being sent to a zoo for other animals to eat. OK, knowing what is happening to a pet isn't the nicest thought but that is only logical in my eyes. I say put it out of it's misery, if researches can use it, great! If no one has a use for it I'm sure Seaworld would appreciate some free shark food. From the very limitted amount of research I did, I don't see it surviving.


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## Flump (Apr 17, 2006)

Latest news is an expert is flying in from interstate to offer assistance. If it lives, good on it, if it dies, well that's life and the sharks will enjoy a nice feed like the Whale that died last week.......wonder if that Whale was the mother?


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

Where are the green eco warriors now - regardless of how hopeless the situation is - I thought theyd be right out there offering assistance or protesting against the government to act swiftly - SAVE THE WHALE !!!


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

the funny thing is that this situation (whales dying) happens up and down the east coast of Australia (and all over the oceans) on a regular basis.

The difference here is that its in full public view, and being played out on our TV's and hence theres a public outcry.

It just seems very hypocritical to me that suddenly theres a lot of 'finger pointers' in the community all crying out to 'save the whales' when the same thing is happening out in the ocean every day.

Yes, its sad to see a magnificent creature slowly withering but it's not like its the first/only time its ever happened.


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## redman (Jun 5, 2008)

Spot on Davey -just the government showboating; and now the defence department wants to tow a giant fuel bladder out to sea to help it find another pod which will probably reject it. What a waste of Taxpayers money while the pubilc health system is shot............... :twisted: :twisted:

Cheers,

Redman


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## theclick (Jun 25, 2007)

It'd be worth towing out to sea just to get rid of them smell when it inevitably dies....and it will.. get over it


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

I think we should try and save it if at all possible - but not at all costs. We should try and save it because although its failed in the past there is nothing to say that lessons cant be learned. If it dies while being attempted to be rescued then at least we rose to the challenge - and its only natures way if we failed. So there will be lessons to be learned either way. It would be pointless though if the thing was reared only to end up wholly reliant on mankind to look after it. They should feed the thing and tow it out to where the whaleways are ( excuse the pun ) :lol: and maybe it will be adopted - if not tough titties - it will either sink or swim !!!


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## ausbass (Feb 15, 2007)

i think its unneccesary really, yeah whales are in danger of being wiped out, but this is most likely 1 of 25-? that dies from being abandoned or from natural causes each year. so trying to save one whale this late in its abandonment seems unlikley it will work. 
euthanasia would be the best solution to the problem and even though we actually didnt try and feed it or something at least we put it out of its misery.


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## redman (Jun 5, 2008)

I dont know if whales are in danger of being wiped out. Every year there are more and more coming up and down the coastline. Perhaps they will learn that Australian Waters are where they cant be hunted and stay here more often......as fish do with green zones. I also have no problem with whaling as long as it is proven sustainable unlike many other forms of commercial fishing which continue to be used. Personally I wouldn't hunt whale but I dont condon Japan for doing so if its sustainable - I just condone them for telling us all some bull%&#$ about scientific research. We could always send the whale to Japan and then they'll need to take one less healthy whale.........


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## wobbly (Jun 13, 2007)

O.K

the thread responses go from good, the bad and the down right ugly.

Here is the thing, commercially, there are some rich bastards who live very well of the back of the whale watching businesses, the government promotes tourism businesses and attracts overseas punters and their money to see our whales, so surely the government could encourage the tourism future by returniing some of the tax payments from the industry and direct it to saving Colin. Add to that the the money created from land clearing and deforrestation that has caused mass extinction then surely money is in the pot to buy the effort. Noting that the population will increase and the probability of infant whales turning up on our doorstep will occur then surely we should start with Colin to workout what the best survival method should be.

The issue is that we as an intellegent and evolved species should show a degree of care for the weak and troubled wildlife irrespective of what example is presented to us. Or are we saying fuckit to the Wires and other organisations who help and care for the injured animals.

It is worth the effort to try hard to save Colin no matter what the risk is.

Regards

Brian


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## wopfish (Dec 4, 2006)

brianj said:


> It is worth the effort to try hard to save Colin no matter what the risk is.


It is worth the effort to try and save this creature for sure - I just think that the effort should be a measured response as getting it fed is just a long list of things this whale needs n order for it to reach its adulthood..


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## redman (Jun 5, 2008)

Colin eh? When did it get a name we cant leave it now...


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## mcbigg (Jul 14, 2007)

I think it may have been said already in this thread (or on tv or somewhere...), but here's my view:

If humans were in some way responsible for this whale becoming separated from its mum, then yes, human should probably try to help it.

If it was abandoned by its mother for other reasons (genetic disease for example, or maybe 'Colin' was just a little shit and its mother couldn't put up with him any more), then maybe it should just be towed out of the way of humans (its sure to be a danger for boats etc) and left for nature to deal with it.


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## L3GACY (Sep 2, 2007)

Just overheard a news update on the tellie:

"...a heartbreaking decision to put down Colin the whale calf"

Took them too long to come up with that if you ask me but it's the right decision if it can't be saved.

Edit:

Here's an article:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24219277-601,00.html

It took them five days before they decided to end it's life... Poor thing would have been starving to death, literally.


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## 30HA (Apr 24, 2008)

theclick said:


> To be quite honest, I think they should leave it alone anyway.
> 
> There is no proof (and it's unlikely) that human interference has been the cause of it losing it's mother, thus it is safe to assume that it is merely part of nature. it is not our role, or our right to get involved in things we didn't impact up on, and it also has potential to do damage to populations.
> 
> ...


I disagree, the baby whale has obviously gotten lost and is hungry and confused and wants something to eat. I think it would be animal cruelty to just leave it and let it perish. You might as well just say that every time an animal is stuck somewhere such as in flood water, or in mud or has a bird has fallen out of its nest or whatever.........that it's just natures way.

I think it has been left too long to do something about. The appropriate people should have acted immediately and I fear too little too late now.

I believe being capable of helping makes this our duty as so called civilized beings to do so.

Anyway, this thread is just too sad and painful to read about. It pains me to think about this whale calf hungry and without a mother and probably scared.


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

30h i agree with you wholeheartedly , John Dengate said days ago that the kindest thing to do would be to euthanase the baby immediately i agree with him , there was no way we were going to replicate the formulae that its mother would have supplied so our efforts would have made a sick animal sicker , for me also this is a very sad situation and a sad post , nature is sometimes very harsh .


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## theclick (Jun 25, 2007)

30HA said:


> theclick said:
> 
> 
> > To be quite honest, I think they should leave it alone anyway.
> ...


An animal that falls down a drain has done so due to human development. A bird falling out of it's nest is natural, and is part of the natural evolution process. Some of the worst environmental mistakes have been made with good intentions. In reality, birds fall out of nests every day, the only difference between one in your back yard falling out of it's nest, and one in the middle of nowhere falling out of its nest is that you see it. It does not qualify that bird that fell out of it's nest in your backyard any more right to be saved than the removed one, just because it is near you. We are part of nature, and we have already had too bigger impact on it, it is best to remove ourselves, both from the good and the bad, too keep what is remaining right, and natural.

Death is a part of nature, and we have to accept that. As mentioned, whale calves dont just get lost from their mother, they are pretty hard to lose. the calf was obvious abandoned for some reason, or it's mother died for some reason such as disease. By feeding this whale in a captive environment in a non-natural way, we are not only doing the whale a disfavor by not teaching it the basic instincts it needs to survive, but we are also doing it's offspring a disfavor as the calf will assumable not have learnt a number of parenting skills essential to it's cycle. This could cause even more stranded calves in the system.

The difference here between 'animal cruelty' and the whale, is that animal cruelty applies to animals that we have taken responsibility of as owners. Dogs, horses, any kind of pet with no access to it's natural environment, and reliance on human care to sustain it, is subject to neglect, thus it is subject to animal cruelty. With his calf, humans play no role in it's wild, natural life span, and we do not claim ownership of it, nor does it exist for our enjoyment, thus it is NOT animal cruelty to let nature take its path. Pets are bred and live due to our will, whales do not, they are wild, and should be subject to the natural system.

It is not our part, so leave it be. A whale close to shore is no more important than a duck lost in the middle of nowhere. It is the way of nature, and just because it is big and visible, and has a whole lot of media attention, does not qualify it to any more special treatment than any other animal.


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## paulo (Nov 1, 2007)

Davey G said:


> they could tow it out into international waters, just south of japan.
> it should be safe there. :shock:


LMAO :lol: 


Crazy_Horse said:


> What baby whale?
> Has Bronwyn Bishop been on the Tim Tams again?


And again :lol:


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## mcbigg (Jul 14, 2007)

theclick said:


> ...We are part of nature...


If we are a part of nature, is not what we do natural?

Is it not natural to want to help someone or something in need?

(I know this kind of contradicts my post above, I just like to pick! Sorry.)


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## riv (Aug 13, 2008)

Its a shame the "LITTLE" fella has to be euthanized, but without a mum to feed him I cant even begin to imagine how you hand feed a baby whale, I get an image of that yacht he swims around with a big teat hanging out the side of it. LOL.

Any way the humane thing to do is put the poor bugger down and not let him starve to death


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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## theclick (Jun 25, 2007)

mcbigg said:


> theclick said:
> 
> 
> > ...We are part of nature...
> ...


You may think that, but I can't think of another animal which actively cares for the weak in another species..


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Hmmmm......am I the only one here who wonders what baby whales taste like and how best to prepair them for eating? :?

After all this is a fishing forum. :? ......come on there must be someone else out there who fancies a whale burger.


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## redman (Jun 5, 2008)

We've already got Croc burgers and Kanga Burgers so why not - and saves the cost of a flight to Japan


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## Rick (Dec 19, 2006)

Hmmm your onto something Gra I know this is kind of personal but with the whale veal would you crumb it or wrap it in seaweed?


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## Physhopath (Jun 21, 2007)

RIP Colin


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## mcbigg (Jul 14, 2007)

Apparently Colin was a girl.

So, RIP Colleen.


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

I wonder if once they do the "Scientific Research" they will do as the Japanese and sell the carcase at the markets. I'm tireing of eating shark fin soup at the local Chinese and would really love giving whale stir fry a go. 

Gra I would have to disagree with you there mate........................................Dugong is very over rated, and quite frankly gives me the runs, maybe sea turtle would be a better accompanying dish. :?


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## mcbigg (Jul 14, 2007)

I'm sure we could rustle up some patagonian toothfish from somewhere as well.


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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QlpoOTFBWSZTWd86kC0AABLfgAAQUJGAAoBCFAov7/6gIABoRQ9DUeoGIGQHqPUIp6TaJtJkAAB5Rg6oKeJpcMkCTXaM2UYrZuRTE23veEBgUWfChmCLFxUY8pGpS2aa2JoqzZ1E2wwvBtF4yEpkTBF4FW63G4wihHDdLoTdLL2s5vTbBwmD3iC0l8DM/xdyRThQkN86kC0=


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## avayak (May 23, 2007)

Ever admired a whale? It's image engraved in the rock. 
A lucky windfall.
Spread the word.
People from all places coming together
A feast, celbration
The memory fixed in stone.


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## 30HA (Apr 24, 2008)

redphoenix said:


> riv said:
> 
> 
> > I cant even begin to imagine how you hand feed a baby whale
> ...


You just always knew that didn't you! :shock:

I wonder if they tried attaching something to the hull of one of the Yachts it was trying to suckle on. Poor thing...........


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## AJD (Jul 10, 2007)

Rick said:


> Hmmm your onto something Gra I know this is kind of personal but with the whale veal would you crumb it or wrap it in seaweed?


Rick - Lightly pan seared with a soy and wasabi sauce on a bed of jasmine rice. DROOOOOOOOOL


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## OneLastCast (Mar 4, 2008)

sad the whale was to weak in the end, its mother obviously left him because he was sick or something similar


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## mcbigg (Jul 14, 2007)

OneLastCast said:


> sad the whale was to weak in the end, its mother obviously left him because he was sick or something similar


They have found a dead whale floating (and being gnawed on by sharks) off the coast of NSW that they think may be its mother. They have taken DNA samples of both and will test to see if they are related.


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## josho (Nov 3, 2007)

I can't believe they didm't even try


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## 30HA (Apr 24, 2008)

josho said:


> I can't believe they didm't even try


Why try when their cheapest and simplest option was to just kill it!


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## theclick (Jun 25, 2007)

30HA said:


> josho said:
> 
> 
> > I can't believe they didm't even try
> ...


Don't forget: only (realistic) option.

It's hilarious when the most realistic option is to create a floating paddock where the grass feeds cows, and the cow milk is fed into a bladder to feed the whale, so it can follow it's migration.

Hilarious really.


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