Lost whale calf bonds with yacht, tries to suckle

Sydney rescuers hope 1-to-2-month old will find its mother or another pod

Video

Whale mistakes yacht for mother
Aug. 18: Officials in Sydney are working to save a baby humpback whale, which was lured out to sea by a yacht. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.

msnbc.com

Asia-Pacific video

MORE VIDEO

Storms wreak havoc worldwide
Nov. 7: Powerful storms strike Australia and Nova Scotia. Msnbc's Alex Witt has the details.

Japanese gangster guns down 3 in Tokyo rampage

Kangaroos invade town

NBC World Blog

NBC News correspondents and producers around the globe share their insight on news events.

Breaking news alerts (about 1 per day)
Click here to sign up or text NEWS to MSNBC (67622).

Find more alerts at alerts.msnbc.com

updated 7:08 a.m. ET Aug. 18, 2008

SYDNEY, Australia - Australian media say a lost humpback whale calf has bonded with a yacht it seems to think is its mother.

The 1- to 2-month-old calf was first sighted Sunday in waters off north Sydney, and on Monday tried to suckle from a yacht, which it would not leave.

Rescuers towed the yacht out to sea, and the calf finally detached from the boat but still swam nearby, Australian Broadcasting Corp. and Channel 10 television news reported.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

The calf appears exhausted but rescuers hope it will continue out to sea and search for its mother or another pod of whales.

"The outlook is not good, but we are giving the calf its only option. It can't be fed, and in fact we wouldn't know what to feed it" because it is not weaned, National Parks and Wildlife regional manager Chris McIntosh told ABC radio.