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 Disappointment as whale calf hopes dashed 

Disappointment as whale calf hopes dashed

09 Aug, 2011 09:10 AM

The baby whale thought to have been reunited with its mother this morning is not the same whale that beached itself at Surfers Paradise yesterday.

Sea World rescuers have confirmed the calf and mother whales spotted off the Gold Coast today were not the whales involved in a massive search and rescue effort yesterday.

It is unknown if the rescued baby whale has found its mother.

A desperate air and sea search was launched yesterday for the mother of the week-old baby whale after it washed ashore on the Gold Coast.

Without its mother, the calf has no hope of surviving.

After hours of searching for the mother on boats, jet-skis and in a helicopter, rescuers decided to put the calf in the water.

Staff from Sea World, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and Gold Coast City Council helped the calf into the ocean in the hope its mother would hear its baby's calls.

This morning, a whale and its calf were found "in the same location", according to a spokeswoman from Sea World.

Earlier today, Sea World spokesman Trevor Long World was optimistic.

"There's no calf on the beach; we've got our boat out early this morning," he told ABC Radio.

"They've just actually radioed me and they've just come across a calf and mother exactly in the same site as we left the calf yesterday afternoon.

"What they're trying to do is they are trying to observe that calf to see if it's the same calf."

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Authorities draped the whale in protective material in a bid to keep it alive yesterday.
Authorities draped the whale in protective material in a bid to keep it alive yesterday.
Rescuers move the whale back into the water from where it washed ashore on the Gold Coast.
Rescuers move the whale back into the water from where it washed ashore on the Gold Coast.
Believed to be the calf's mother, this whale was spotted with a baby this morning.
Believed to be the calf's mother, this whale was spotted with a baby this morning.

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