Australia's White Whale Charges Boats
By ROD McGUIRK, The Associated Press
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - A rare white whale making its way up Australia's east coast is showing signs he is growing tired of his celebrity status, a researcher said Monday.
The adolescent humpback male named Migaloo is making his annual migration north from Antarctica to the Whitsunday Islands off the tropical coast of Queensland state where the whales breed in August.
Since he was first spotted off Australia's most eastern point, Cape Byron, in 1991, Migaloo's coast-hugging journeys have attracted fans in a growing flotilla.
But Migaloo has shown signs of feeling harassed by the public attention, particularly since he collided with a trimaran - a three hulled boat - near the town of Townsville in August last year, said David Lloyd from Southern Cross University's Whale Research Center.
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While Migaloo was not as aggressive as the fictional white sperm whale in the 1851 classic American novel "Moby Dick,'' Lloyd warned whale watchers to keep their distance.
"He's not showing the boat-crushing aggression of Captain Ahab's nemesis, but we've seen signs of frustration at all the attention,'' Lloyd told The Associated Press. "He's charged a few boats that are following him, or that got in his way or generally harassed him, and being hit by the trimaran really hasn't helped his disposition toward humans.''
Lloyd estimates Migaloo is about 14 years old, about 46 feet long and weighs 33 tons.
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 Media contacts:
Working on an article or story about Migaloo? To arrange for interviews and photos, please contact:
Anne Rillero, Publicist, Pacific Whale Foundation at 808-249-8811 or 808-244-8390.
Or email: publicrelations@pacificwhale.org
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