Veterinary pathologists from Sydney's Taronga Zoo have released the necropsy report for the orphaned humpback whale calf that swam into Pittwater in August.
Daily media reports drew national attention to the debate about what should be done about the whale, named Colin, after attempts to lure it out of the bay and to locate its mother failed.
Following days of consultation with experts in Australia and overseas the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service made a decision to euthanise the whale. The necropsy report revealed that the decision was correct.
The report concluded that the calf was a very young male, afflicted with “acute pneumonia, ulcers in its stomach and oesophagus, serious body and pancreas emaciation, and acute intestinal erosion”. Shark bites on its body were also infected. The vets concluded that if the whale had not been put down it would have suffered a slow, painful death.
No conclusion could be reached as to why the whale had become separated from its mother, although this must have occurred very soon after its birth given its estimated age of no more than ten days.
