Australian marine authorities left baffled after discovering humpback whale in shark-infested river

Marine authorities were puzzling on Monday over how to persuade at least one wayward humpback whale to leave a murky, crocodile-infested river in northern Australia and continue an annual migration to Antarctica. There have been no previous recorded sightings of whales in East Alligator River in the Northern Territory’s World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, and no one can explain why at least three of the blue water mammals ventured so deep inland in a river with little visibility. Marine ecologist Jason Fowler said he spotted three whales on Sept. 2 while sailing with friends more than 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the river’s mouth. “We happened to bump into some great big whales which completely blew me away,” Mr Fowler said on Monday. “The water’s incredibly murky. It’s got zero visibility. So you can only see the whales when they’re right on the surface,” he said. He estimated there were two adults and a younger whale, around 10 meters (33 feet) to 12 meters (39 feet) long. “The west Australian humpback whale population has absolutely exploded. It’s the great conservation success story in the ocean,” Mr Fowler said. “There are so many humpbacks heading up the W.A. (Western Australia state) coast now, they’re bound to end up in new places. What’s incredibly weird is the fact that they’re up a muddy, shallow river full of crocodiles – that’s unheard of,” he said. Despite the river’s name, there are no alligators in Australia. It was named after its many crocodiles by European explorers who apparently couldn’t tell the difference.