Humpback whale
Council has adopted a Humpback whale as part of the Humpback Whale Migration Icon Project.
This project aims to support Councils and their communities to work together to show how valuable whales are to our communities and acknowledge the ever-growing need to protect them from the threats they face.
The project is coordinated through the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
Council's Guraki Committee named the whale Wittilliko, which means 'to sing'.
Kotara High School student Nicole Mclachlan (pictured) has campaigned for the protection of the humpback whale and spoke at the naming ceremony for the whale on 13 June 2008. Read a copy of her speech.
Humpback Whale information
The Humpback Whale is a warm blooded mammal. They breathe air through lungs and have to come to the surface to breathe.
Each year the Humpback Whale leaves their feeding grounds in Antarctica to begin their epic voyage of approximately 10,000kms to Australia's warmer waters. While abundant food is available for whales in Antarctica, newborn calves would not survive in the icy waters so the whales migrate north. Many females make the journey pregnant do they can give birth in Australian waters.
