Newborn whale euthanised after being separated from mother and becoming beached

A STRANDED newborn whale with its umbilical cord still attached has been euthanised on a Queensland beach because its mum couldn’t be found.

A NEWBORN humpback whale that became stranded on a Queensland beach with its umbilical cord still attached was “doing well” but had to be euthanised because its mother couldn’t be found.

Rescue efforts to save the whale have been going for hours with more than 20 residents, a vet and environmental protection agency officers working to save the calf at Warana Beach on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.

Resident Brad Leech said a production line was started with people running buckets of water to the whale, which was shaded under a gazebo.

“The whale looked to be doing OK, with movements of joy every time water was poured over (it),” Mr Leech said.

A Sea World spokesman said the calf, with its umbilical cord still attached, would be euthanised if its parent could not be found.

Around 20 residents and wildlife workers worked to save the newborn whale by shading it with a gazebo and pouring buckets after buckets of water over the trapped animal. Picture: AAP /Brad Leech.

A beached calf whale at Warana Beach this morning.

Soon after, Sea World experts attended the scene where it was decided the whale would be euthanised.

“We will sedate it so it won’t feel anything. The sedation itself might even cause the animal to expire,” Sea World vet David Blyde said.

Resident Tony Isaacson was tasked with looking for the whale’s mother by standing on a sand dune at the beach.

He said volunteers were told “to take whatever moments they need to say goodbye”.

“Be at peace Warana Babe,” he wrote on Facebook.