NSW beached whale to be euthanised
Rescuers have made the tough decision to euthanise a humpback whale after it became beached on the NSW mid north coast on Friday.
A rescue operation was underway to refloat the whale on Saturday morning, with attempts unsuccessful.
The nine metre-long whale, weighing about 10 tonnes, was spotted early on Friday morning in the surf at Sawtell Beach, south of Coffs Harbour. It washed closer to shore about 7am.
The rescue group says it will be a long operation. Photo: Facebook / ORRCA
The whale was spotted beached early on Friday morning. Photo: Facebook / ORRCA
Terrible weather conditions hindered the efforts of rescuers on Friday, who were forced to wait until high tide on Saturday morning to try again.
They stayed on the beach overnight to monitor the whale's condition.
Members of marine mammal rescue group ORRCA and a vet were on site to assist on Friday.
"The humpback whale was in the surf zone making it very difficult for experts to get near the animal," NPWS senior wildlife officer Susan Crocetti said in a statement on Friday.
The whale became beached on Friday morning. Photo: 7 News
"We have a highly experienced team of specialists assisting with this response and they are doing everything possible to give this whale the best chance of survival."
The group provided an update on their Facebook page on Saturday morning as they began the enormous task of refloating it.
Bad weather hindered the effort of rescue crews. Photo: 7 News
"ORRCA, authorities and other specialists are already working to turn the whale for the position for its rescue," they said.
"This is very time consuming, very dangerous and takes a lot of planning and coordination. Safety is paramount for both the whale and rescuers."
There are concerns for the whale's health given it is beached. Photo: 7 News
There were concerns for the whale's health given it's beached and the decision has been made to euthanise it.
