A lost endangered southern right whale found its way into Wallis Lake near Forster and Tuncurry earlier this week, where it has remained as hundreds of spectators lined the banks to watch it attempt to make its way back into open water.
Locals in the area say the whale was first spotted early Tuesday morning, and was seen again yesterday as National Parks and Wildlife Service crews ordered boaties and watergoers to maintain at least a 500 metre distance.
The whale will need to negotiate the waterways beneath the Forster Tuncurry bridge to return to open water as it makes its way north along the NSW coast on the annual migration.
It's estimated around 35,000 humpback whales make the voyage of around 10,000 kilometres, the sight of which injects around $53 million into the Port Stephens tourism economy, however estimates are that as few as 30 southern rights make it to NSW waters each year.
The whale is said to be between 13- and 15 metres in length and is supposed to be part of an endangered south-eastern population of around 270 whales including just 68 breeding females.
The site of the whale on the lakes was extremely rare for locals of the Great Lakes. Long-time resident, photographer Shane Chalker said he had only known of whales coming into the harbour on two other occasions.
"They were humpbacks and they didn't go past the bridge."
The whale appeared to be in good health, locals said, and may have found its way into the lake as southern rights tend to steer toward shallower waters as opposed to their humpback counterparts.
- with reporting by Jeanene Duncan, The Great Lakes Advocate.
