Tears for Orphaned Whale

An orphaned baby whale that broke hearts in Australia when it tried to suckle the hull of a yacht is to be put down, officials said Thursday.

Animal lovers who had rigged up a makeshift feeding device to try and keep the month-old humpback alive have accepted that the calf can't be saved. Experts said that the improvised feeding device would not work, and that anyway the longer-term prognosis was also bleak.

"The whole issue's been quite harrowing, not only for our staff but for the community in general, where people have really been concerned about this whale," Dengate said. "They've said to us, 'Can't you do this? Can't you do that?' We've tried really hard to follow every bit of advice that's come through."