Whale, whale, whale! Incredible video shows humpback whale making a smart move to free itself from the ropes of a buoy in Canada after being trapped for two days
The mammal tried to shake off the ropes of a buoy at Texada Island near Vancouver, British Columbia
Fisheries and Oceans Canada came to the rescue of the whale after tracking it down with a drone and finding fishing nets in its mouth
The rescue mission lasted four to five hours because the whale was too fast for the conservators, who had to slow the animal down with a rope
The creature performed a backflip, also known as spyhopping, drone video shows
It managed to roam free in the Pacific with its flock after its liberation
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A humpback whale spotted off Canada’s Pacific coast has made a stunning move on a rescue mission after endangering itself by being trapped in fishing nets for two days.
The whale attempted to shake off the ropes of a floating device on Oct. 14 in the Strait of Georgia, off the coast of Texada Island, near Vancouver, British Columbia.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada managed to come to the rescue when the Mammal Rescue team tracked it down with their drone. The warm-blooded mammal was with two other humpback whales at the time.
Rescuers had to slow the whale by using some pulling force after it unsuccessfully attempted to break 300 feet of rope entangled in its mouth, Paul Cottrell, who acts as coordinator for the rescue facility, told the BBC.
The mammal sensed the extra weight of the rope attached to it by the Canadian government agency and stunned witnesses by doing a rare back flip, drone footage shows.
According to the Fisheries and Oceans Canada, off the coast of Texada Island in British Columbia, Canada, a humpback whale has been caught in 300-foot fishing nets. It was swimming with two other humpback whales at the time
Rescuers had to attach another line to the whale to prevent it from moving too fast and injuring itself more
WHALE, THAT’S INCREDIBLE: The whale did a back flip, in a rare move called espionage, to free itself
The proper term for the move is “spy hopping,” which consists of a vertical half rise out of the water performed by a whale to check out its environment, according to Dictionary.com.
“And all the equipment flew out and the animal left with its companion animals,” Cottrell told the BBC.
The movement certainly helped and the whale eventually managed to shake the load off both ropes, but aides continued to monitor the creature to make sure it roamed free.
Cottrell said only an “energetic” whale would make such a rare move, and was relieved to see it swim away with its flock.
“We were like, ‘Wow, this is something we’ve never come across before,’” Cottrell added.
“The team was overwhelmed by just luck,” the Canadian added. “It was just great.”
After his aerobics, the whale managed to swim freely again off the west coast of Canada, along with two other companions
“The team was overwhelmed with just luck,” said Paul Cottrell, spokesman for Fisheries and Oceans Canada of the rescue team’s experience rescuing the mammal. ‘It was just amazing’
The meticulous mission lasted a total of “four to five hours,” as rescuers had to make sure they didn’t hurt the whale while cutting the fishing nets.
Humpback whales can grow up to 62 feet in length and weigh up to 53 tons. They are popular with whale watchers for their acrobatic displays – including spectacular breakthroughs where they launch their school bus-sized bodies completely out of the water and bang their pectoral fins or tails on the surface.
These mammals are commonly found along the Pacific coastline, from California to Canada, to feed in the summer and fall before migrating south to breeding and birthing grounds off the coast of Mexico.
Humpback whales are among the world’s most endangered mammal species, with an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 remaining
They are among the world’s most endangered whales with an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 remaining, including 2,900 that frequent the Washington and Oregon coasts except for The Golden State, according to the Marine Mammal Center.
In the US, it is a federal crime to approach a humpback whale and the Canadian government-backed response team should operate under a special federal license.
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