Whale was entangled in rope off Australia for days. Video shows the ‘grueling’ rescue
Sea World staffers recently rescued a humpback whale off the coast of Australia that was “heavily” entangled in rope and dragging buoys, video shows.
The animal was first spotted June 13 near Burrewarra Point, about 190 miles south of Sydney, according to a news release from the Sea World Foundation.
Then, on June 20, the whale was again spotted off Sandon Beach, prompting Sea World staffers to undertake a rescue operation.
“With only an hour of daylight left on the water, the team began their search and found the entangled whale 5 miles east of Angourie, off the coast of Yamba,” the group said in the release.
With little time to act, the team, operating from a small boat, attached a satellite tag to the whale, which allowed them to track the animal.
The next morning, the team traveled to the whale’s last known location and found it about two miles from shore.
A video shows the whale swimming near the surface and towing multiple orange buoys.
Upon locating the animal, the team then mounted a “challenging” and “grueling” rescue operation, which took over three hours to complete.
The team “slowly ticked through the boxes,” cutting ropes first from the front of the animal and then working their way to its back, a Sea World staffer said in the video.
“Instantly, as soon as that list bit of (rope) came off, the animal’s whole swim pattern changed,” the staffer said. “It took off at about 4 to 6 knots.”
Following its release, the whale continued traveling northward with another whale.
Humpback whales, which can weigh up to 40 tons and measure up to 60 feet, are found in every ocean on Earth, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
While they are increasing in number, they face threats from entanglements with fishing gear, underwater noise and vessel strikes.
This story was originally published June 24, 2024 at 1:47 PM with the headline "Whale was entangled in rope off Australia for days. Video shows the ‘grueling’ rescue."