Scientists are concerned for the welfare of a humpback whale sighted upriver in the Northern Territory's Kakadu National Park. It's the first time the species has been recorded in the area.
Whale experts are concerned a humpback whale swimming upstream in Kakadu's crocodile-infested East Alligator River could get stuck, after two others left the waterway this week.The whales were spotted by a member of the public last week, and have been monitored by authorities ever sinceScientists are concerned about the remaining whale's welfare, and the risk of it getting stranded
Carol Palmer, a marine ecosystems scientist at the NT Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said scientists could not pinpoint the exact reason the animals had gone up the river. The NT Government and federal authorities have set up a boat exclusion zone from the mouth of the river to about 30 kilometres upstream to protect the whales and unsuspecting boat owners.
Dr Palmer said that even the largest crocodiles in the river system would be no match for the whale, as long as it did not get stranded.
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