Humpback Whale Saved From Netting - VIDEO

Humpback Whale Saved From Netting – VIDEO

Published August 28, 2014

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
Icelandic Coast Guard

The Icelandic Coast Guard rescued a whale that had been caught in netting, with the whole event recorded on video.

A statement from the Icelandic Coast Guard announces that they received a call yesterday morning of a whale near Skagafjörður that had reportedly gotten caught in some fishing netting. The whale had attempted to free itself, but a rope from the net was entangled around its tail, and it was swimming not far from shore.

A local sailor had attempted to free the netting from the whale himself, but the hook he was using was smacked from his hand by the whale’s tail, prompting him to make the call to the Coast Guard.

A Coast Guard team arrived on the scene. Shortly thereafter, they had a visitor.

“Another humpback whale appeared, and seemed to be assessing the situation,” the statement reads in part. “In the end, Coast Guard officers were able to cut the rope so the humpback could get rid of it at once. It thanked us with one final splash of its tail and was not seen again.”

Below, you can watch the HD video of the rescue.

[vimeo 104602996 w=500 h=281]
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