Odyssey of lost humpback whale melts Hong Kong hearts (Roundup)

Hong Kong - A lost humpback whale's efforts to find it way out of busy shipping lanes around Hong Kong was Thursday enthralling people in the former British colony. The plight of the 10-metre adult whale has for two days made television and newspaper headlines in the normally money-obsessed city, providing an unexpected distraction from a tide of bleak economic news. The humpback whale, the first ever seen in Hong Kong waters, is believed to have become separated from a group of whales migrating from the tropical waters where they spend winter to their summertime Arctic feeding grounds. It was first spotted surfacing, raising its tail and exhaling water through its blow hole Monday and Tuesday in busy shipping lanes close to Hong Kong's landmark Victoria Harbour. On Wednesday night, it had moved to the south of Hong Kong island and appeared to be heading eastward to the usual northerly migration route for whales in the South China Sea. However, a kayak paddler who tailed it for several hours Thursday said it appeared to be no closer to the open sea and was disoriented and confused by heavy shipping passing close to it. Experts said they believe the whale is healthy and if it can find its way into open waters, it should be able to rejoin other whales and continue its route toward the Arctic. However, boatloads of sightseers with cameras have headed out to try to track the whale since it was first sighted, and an appeal has been issued for people not to sail too close to the lost whale. There were also concerns that there is a lack of food for the whale in Hong Kong's heavily polluted waters, where fish stocks are critically low, and the whale could weaken if it fails to find its way out soon. Whale expert Samuel Hung Ha-yiu, head of a research centre on dolphins and porpoises, said trying to guide the mammal toward open waters could be counter-productive. 'We recommend the government refrain from doing anything outside of monitoring the animal,' he said, adding that trying to usher it out would raise its stress levels and risk it becoming beached. Photographs of the whale, meanwhile, have been sent to experts in the United States, the Philippines and Japan to try to discover from where it has swum to reach Hong Kong waters.