A Whale Is Born
Last week in Newcastle a Southern Right Whale gave birth. The Southern Right Whale is so named because in the view of 19th century whalers the whale was "right" for hunting and harvesting: It swam slowly, floated when killed, and yielded high quantities of oil and baleen (see link below). It was hunted almost to extinction but miraculously survived, and the population is now estimated at 3000. The whale is now "hunted" by sightseers and researchers. In Newcastle, Bar Beach car park this week was as full as it gets in the middle of summer, and driving past the beach was somewhat hazardous as many drivers' eyes were looking seaward hoping to catch a glimpse. It is illegal to take a boat within 200 metres of any whale, however a research boat from Macquarie University was permitted to go closer. According to the Newcastle Herald, the police were inundated with calls from people thinking the boat was harrassing the whales, and people on the shore were yelling at the boat to stay 200 metres away. It seems many Novocastrians feel very protective of this protected species.
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