Baby Whale Bonds With Boat

I've heard some improbable attachment stories before:  tiger cubs nursed by a golden retriever, ducklings imprinted on human researchers.  But this one beats them all, and is the one most likely to result in tragedy — a baby humpback whale apparently thinks a yacht is its mother, and has even tried to suckle from it.

The saga is unfolding in Pittwater, Sydney.  No one knows where the mother whale is, but the baby won't leave the boat despite the fact that it was towed out to sea in an attempt to coax the baby to look for its mum, or even a different pod into which it could conceivably be accepted.

Experts agree the baby is unlikely to survive.  Rescuers can't feed the baby because, at an estimated 1-2 months of age, it hasn't been weaned.

Is it crazy or sentimental or hormonal of me to see this mismatch as a metaphor for our times?  How many of us are steadfastly attached to the wrong things, only we can't see it, so we continue to pursue them to our own detriment???

All I know is, I'm rooting like crazy for this poor baby to find its mum.

Updates at the SMH

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