A young humpback whale has been successfully freed after becoming entangled in ropes at Sydney Harbour in Australia. The rescue operation, confirmed by Jessica Fox, the second vice president of the volunteer organization Orrca, took place over two days.
The whale, estimated to be between 10 to 15 meters long, was first spotted by a tour group on Thursday afternoon.
The group quickly alerted Orrca, which then began coordinating rescue efforts. A GPS tracker was initially attached to the whale to monitor its movements overnight, but it detached, prompting a renewed search on Friday morning.
By 9:30 am on Friday, the whale was located between Middle Head and North Head, with ropes and buoys visibly entangled around its tail. New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, along with Maritime NSW, provided Support by monitoring the whale and enforcing an exclusion zone to ensure the safety of both the animal and the rescue teams.
The large whale disentanglement team, using specialized cutting tools designed to safely remove the ropes without harming the whale, worked from early morning until late morning to free the animal.
Ben Khan, area manager for NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, highlighted the complexity of the operation, noting the challenges of working with such a large and active animal.
After several careful attempts, the rescue team succeeded in cutting the whale free by 11:15 am. Once released, the humpback swam towards the open ocean, heading through Sydney Heads to freedom.
This article by Trinity Sparke was first published by One Green Planet on 28 August 2024. Image Credit :Jonas Gruhlke/Shutterstock.
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