Australia: Humpback Whale Rescue Abandoned

Attempts to free a young humpback whale entangled in ropes off the Australian coast have stalled after wildlife officers ruled it was too risky.

The operation, near Sydney, became unsafe after an accompanying adult whale became protective.

The whale calf was swimming near its mother when a rope connected to three buoys wrapped around its tail.

Tourists travelling on a whale-watching cruise said they saw the animal thrashing around.

"It was just going like up and down, pretty fast. Usually they dive for like three to six minutes," said one tourist, getting off a boat.

Jonas Leibschner, of Whale Watching Sydney, said: "The whale was entangled in a fish trap, which we do see pretty much every day out there."

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) had sent out a crew in a boat to try and free the calf.

But, when a third whale joined the mother and calf and started showing erratic and defensive behaviour, rescue attempts were halted.

Officers said disentangling a rope around a whale's tail is a difficult operation and they were not sure they could complete it before nightfall.

The three whales were moving at a normal speed as the entanglement did not seem to be slowing the calf down, according to reports.

"In all likelihood, we'll get an aircraft up in the morning to assess the current status of the animal and its location," said Geoff Ross, of NPWS.

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