Mourning humpback whale mother keeps divers at bay

A whale mourning her dead calf kept at bay divers attempting to retrieve the body on Currumbin Beach on Australia's Gold Coast on Tuesday.

The four-metre humpback died after becoming entangled in nets put up to protect swimmers from sharks.

Queensland state government spokesperson Tony Ham said plans to retrieve the body were abandoned after the mother shielded the dead calf.

"The whale, we think it's the mother, was acting very aggressively, so attempts to retrieve the calf have been abandoned," Ham said.

"As time progressed it seemed to get more and more aggressive."

Ham said the authorities would wait until the calf's body floated to the surface or was washed ashore.

The death comes amid calls from nature lovers for the shark nets to be taken down during the winter months when an estimated 5 000 humpbacks make the annual migration up the east coast to breed in tropical northern waters.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said the decision was to value humans over whales.

There are shark nets protecting swimmers on 87 popular Queensland beaches.

Since they were erected in the early 1990s there have been no fatal shark attacks. Over that time, four whales are known to have died after becoming entangled in nets and 21 have been freed after becoming entangled.

Source: www.iol.co.za