A humpback whale that was entangled in fishing line attached to lobster pots was spotted along the coast of San Diego this weekend. The whale was freed from towing one heavy load by rescuers who spent hours relentlessly pursuing this whale, who wanted nothing to do with them. This is a feel-good story about people saving a stranded whale, which is the opposite of some of the headlines lately reporting elephants being poisoned and hunters killing any majestic animal that crosses their path in the name of sports.
A team from SeaWorld took on the tedious task of trying to get close enough to the whale to cut away the 230 feet off rope wrapped around the sea creature’s mouth, tail and fins. Everything came together just off the coast of California near La Jolla Cove in San Diego. This is where the rescue team got close enough to the humpback and was able to work long enough to free it from an entangled mess. They were the second team to try and rescue this 50-foot whale, according to CBS Local News on October 31.
It was Friday afternoon when the adult whale was first spotted with what looked like rope and lobster traps wrapped around the whale from mouth to tail. The whale was about 45 miles south of Los Angeles at that time. This is when a team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration attempted to rescue the whale from its bondage, but they only managed to cut 100 feet of rope away when the whale headed for deeper water after getting spooked.
Then it surfaced again 60 miles down the coast near San Diego and this is where the deed was successfully completed. This time it was a team from SeaWorld who took on the task. They got close enough to the whale to cut the rope, with this good deed of freeing the whale taking about three hours, reports ABC News.
The folks at SeaWorld are hoping that they gave the whale a second chance at life after they removed it's heavy and constricting load. Sadly, this is not a rare occurrence. With about 50 whale rescues since the beginning of this year by NOAA, you might say this is becoming all too commonplace.
The ropes and nets that were cut away from this whale are not just a souvenir of a job well-done. They will be inspected for markers that will hopefully help to identify the owner.
