Vacationers on the West End of Galveston Island found a baby sperm whale this morning, and a rescue crew was called in.
But unless a deep fog lifts, the baby might have to be killed.
The Houston Chronicle reports that Allison Wilkins, 11, of Dallas, and her dad spotted the baby on the beach.
The Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network was called in and was able to lift it onto a truck and take it to a tank.
The bad news — unless the calf can be reunited with its mother, it will have to be euthanized.
There’s no way the TMMSN could keep up with the food needs of a growing baby whale, an official said.
Trouble is, it’s still very foggy in Galveston, and going out in a boat looking for a stray whale requires a pretty good field of vision.
So keep your fingers crossed that the fog lifts and rescuers get lucky.
Update: The Chron says rescuers have determined it’s a pygmy whale, not a baby. We bet it gets that all the time.
This article appears in Feb 17-23, 2011.