Australian rangers put down abandoned baby whale

By Daniel Munoz

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An abandoned baby whale which touched hearts around the world by trying to suckle from a yacht it thought was its mother was put to death near Sydney Harbour on Friday to spare it further suffering.

Aboriginal "whale whisperers" and weeping protesters failed to save the stricken calf, with Australian rangers destroying the animal with a fatal dose of anaesthetic.

The humpback whale, nicknamed "Colin" but later found to be female, was discovered at the weekend attempting to suckle from a moored yacht at Sydney's Pittwater Bay after being abandoned by its mother off Australia's east coast.

After a six-day effort to lead the calf back to open sea and re-unite it with other migrating humpbacks, rangers and scientists decided that it would be more humane to destroy the whale.

A vet report and blood tests on Thursday revealed the two-tonne calf, believed to be only two to three weeks old, was in poor condition and probably had only hours to live. It was suffering from shark bite wounds and breathing difficulties.

"Everyone is very connected to this animal and it is a very emotional decision," state Parks Service chief Sally Barnes told Australian radio on Friday. "I've taken the decision that I don't want to prolong the agony of this animal," she said.

The whale's struggle to survive captivated Australians, who strongly oppose Japanese "scientific" whale killing and flock to sea on whale-sighting tours during the giant mammals' annual Antarctic migration and breeding season in Australian waters.

A handful of outraged animal rights protesters who staged an overnight vigil in Sydney said the calf's drawn-out death, over 10 minutes after anaesthetic was injected, had brought scenes akin to the yearly Japanese Southern Ocean slaughter to Australian doorsteps.