Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/alaskan-humpback-whale-freed-from-fishing-gear/

If you’ve never had the opportunity to see humpback whales in Alaska, it really is worth putting on your bucket list. Those beautiful creatures are both graceful and powerful in ways that are unique to their species.

Perhaps that is why the townspeople in Tenakee Springs, Alaska, pulled together to help a whale when they heard it asking for help. That cry for help was described as a “sad and mournful and awful sound,” according to Alaska Public Media, and they were quick to respond.

When they looked for the cry they were hearing, it led them to a 40-foot humpback whale. It was in the water near that area and had been entangled in tanner crab pot gear. Thankfully, it is very uncommon for these entanglements to occur and if they do take place, most whales are able to free themselves. When Steve Lewis, Wendy Stern, and Gordon Chew arrived on the scene, they realized that the whale was going to need some additional help.

Those three individuals are more than residents of the local area, they are trained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to handle whale entanglements. After taking a closer look at the situation, they got in touch with NOAA and were given permission to intervene and help the mammal.

Through the use of a waterproof camera and a boat, those three volunteers were able to get a closer look and see what needed to be done.

Alaska Public Media reports that Stern shared: “It had an anchor on the tail, lines going forward, a buoy in its mouth, another buoy at its tail. And it really could barely move. It was awful to see an animal all bound up like that.”

After getting the footage using the waterproof camera, it was transmitted to NOAA and they helped come up with a plan that would allow for the safe release of the humpback whale.

It is not just a matter of simply releasing the whale from captivity, there is a lot of safety that needs to be considered. If it is not carried out properly, it can be dangerous for the whale and for humans that are attempting the rescue. Every step of the process was reviewed with NOAA and their experience was invaluable in helping to free the animal.

Volunteers were prepared on Thanksgiving morning to free the whale by cutting the gear. A number of other boats had joined the rescue and the volunteers were able to cut the crab pot that was weighing down the animal and keeping it in place. After being freed, the boats followed the whale and, eventually, cut one of the buoys that were also entangling the animal. Now that the crab pot and buoy were released, the whale could dive down and swim away safely.

“Helping a big animal like that is a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving,” Lewis said, according to the media outlet. “We were really happy to be able to spend our day doing something really good for the world or at least for that whale.”

Although additional gear was still attached to the whale, NOAA experts feel that the 16-year-old humpback was able to shake free from it on its own.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog