Humpback whale swims up a river just north of Sydney in incredibly rare sighting after he was caught up in an incoming tide
- The whale was seen near Mullet Creek in Sydney at about 1.30pm on Saturday
- It was brought into the river by a tide and was circling below a railway bridge
- A marine biologist at the scene determined the young whale was not distressed
A rare juvenile humpback whale has been spotted circling in a river.
The young whale was spotted below a railway bridge near Mullet Creek and the Hawkesbury River Bridge of the M1 and Pacific Highway in Sydney at about 1.30pm on Saturday.
A Riverboat Postman was on the water with 150 people, including marine biologist Cassie Brady, who took a small boat out to examine the whale’s odd behaviour.
The young whale was spotted below a railway bridge near Mullet Creek and the Hawkesbury River Bridge of the M1 and Pacific Highway in Sydney at about 1.30pm on Saturday
‘It’s circling where it shouldn’t be in the Hawkesbury River,’ Ms Brady told The Daily Telegraph.
‘It was more confused than anything.’
While she was out on the water, Ms Brady confirmed the whale was a juvenile humpback.
She examined the whale’s ‘down times’- which is the length of time spent between breaths at the surface – and found it was normal and a sign the whale was not in distress.
Ms Brady said NSW Maritime arrived and made sure other boats did not come to close and scare the young whale.
She followed the whale and it was last seen heading back out to sea on the outgoing tide, south-east of Dangar Island.
‘He was only a juvenile so it’s probably his first leg (south) on his own and its followed the wrong shoreline into the river.’
Humpback whales from the southern hemisphere begin their annual migratory route to their winter breed grounds in the warmer tropical waters of the Pacific in late autumn.
They return south to Antarctica in spring.
A Riverboat Postman was on the water with 150 people, including marine biologist Cassie Brady, who took a small boat out to examine the whale’s odd behaviour