Here he is: Sydney's love affair with Colin the orphaned whale will end in tears. Veterinary experts have told the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) that the humpback calf is in dangerously poor condition and that a merciful death is the only option. "As a result of a veterinary assessment, staff from both Taronga Zoo and Seaworld say the whale's condition has rapidly deteriorated," NPWS spokesman Chris McIntosh told ninemsn. "It's condition is such that they cannot be sure that it would survive until the morning. "The recommendation they made to us — which we've accepted — is that they humanely euthanize the whale tonight, provided they can find it. "We've conveyed this to the RSPCA and they've agreed with our assessment." Experts from Seaworld were on site discussing the calf’s fate this afternoon and considering whether another attempt to lure it out to sea would be viable. But it was thought that the exertion imposed on the animal, as well as its slow speed and difficulties of luring the whale with the yacht at virtually no speed may hinder the operation. Amateur fisherman Mike Rath contacted ninemsn after sighting a pair of Southern Wright whales off Narrabeen — only a few kilometres from Pittwater — yesterday morning. Mr Rath said both the 15m-long whales were circling the boat, rising 4m out of the water to look and also swimming upside down underneath the boat for at least 20 minutes "as if they were looking for something". But director of the Southern Cross University Whale Research Centre, Peter Harrison, dismissed the possibility that the pair were reacting to communication from the calf. "It’s very normal behavior," he said. "That’s exactly what whales will do when they’re curious about something." Dr Harrison also said different species of whales did not generally communicate with each other and another female humpback would need to be within a few kilometres of the calf to hear it. "The calf is physically not big enough to make really strong sounds," he said. "The only good solution would be if the mother starts a wider search pattern and reconnects with this calf … or if another female just happened to be in the area and had lost it’s calf." But he was not aware of a humpback ever adopting another calf.

Aw, that always makes me so sad. Goodbye, Colin. You are so beautiful. Pretty soon you will be feeling no more sickness, no more pain. You were the greatest ambassador of your species there ever was. Sleep peacefully, dear. It is time for you to let your spirit rest.

Oh man.. :( rest in peace my brethren.

Ugh, who cares. More tabloid nonsense. Kill it and sell the meat to Japanese whalers.

It is always my hope that when an innocent dies that they know they were loved and that we were moved by their suffering and their lonliness and mourned their passing. I hope he knows we would have saved him if we could have.