Subject: Case Study: Attempt to free whale
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Mon, 11 Nov 1994 14:50:32
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From: WHE_WILLIAM@flo.org
Subject: Case Study: Attempt to free whale
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Subj: ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO FREE
Date: Thu, 10 Nov 1994 12:09:29 PST
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From: r.mallon1@genie.geis.com
Subject: ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO FREE
To: Multiple recipients of list MARMAM <MARMAM@UVVM.BITNET>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO FREE WILLIE THE WHALE TODAY
SYDNEY, Nov 8 AAP - Another attempt to free a nine-metre whale,
trapped in the Manning River on the central New South Wales for
almost 12 weeks, will be made today.
Yesterday's rescue operation was aborted due to high winds,
gusting up to 30 to 40 knots, the National Parks and Wildlife
Service (NPWS) said.
"Weather conditions mean't that it was unsafe for both the whale
and rescuers to proceed with the rescue," NPWS deputy director
Alastair Howard.
The 10-tonne Brydes whale, nicknamed Willie by the media and
Pimpernel by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), has
made the river its home since August 17.
Rescue officers plan to use a revolutionary whale harness, made by
the Sea World aquarium on the Queensland Gold Coast, to float the
enormous mammal over a sandbank at the rivers mouth which the whale
had been able cross.
"The cradle is made up of soft mesh floating between two
eight-metre rubber pontoons to rescue animals as large as a
30-tonne humpback whales," Mr Howard said.
He said concerns about the whale's health were growing daily and
it was vital to get the whale back to its natural environment.
Little was known about the whale and rescue officers were not
sure how long it could survive in the river.
The NPWS believes the use of the pontoon will provide the best
hope of returning the animal back to its natural environment.
Mr Howard said the rescue of the whale would take place in
shallow water about 5.30am (AEDT) to reduce the risks of stressing
the animal.