When a 12-meter-long humpback whale was spotted near Mallorca, it attracted a lot of attention. The poor whale was caught in a drift net and was unable to free itself. A passing boat became aware of the animal and called in divers from the Palma de Mallorca Aquarium to free it.
However, the marine rescue center’s attempt was not successful. To their dismay, they also discovered that the whale was already very exhausted. The rescuers had to act quickly because it was in great danger. If this marine rescue center couldn’t save the whale, is there anyone who can?
The people on the boat didn’t have time to think. The boat’s occupants reported to Mallorca, the closest Spanish Balearic island, to describe the hopeless situation and ask for help. Fortunately, two diving centers responded immediately to the emergency call. Divers from Skualo and Albatros-Diving quickly encountered the boat, which was about five kilometers offshore.
After assessing the situation, the team decided to send four experienced divers with hand knives to manually separate the net from the whale. It wasn’t just any fishing net. The whale had become tangled in an illegal drift net. Driftnets were banned by the United Nations decades ago because they have been proven to cause significant damage to the sea and its inhabitants. These giant nets are designed to collect a variety of fish and aquatic life and do not target any specific animal. Unfortunately, some fishermen still use these illegal nets.
Time and time again, innocent sea creatures get caught in the nets and can no longer break free. Most of the time, this means certain death for the poor creatures. In this case, the dangerous red net was wrapped almost around the whale’s entire body. This restricted the animal’s freedom of movement and made it difficult for it to swim properly. And to make matters worse, the net had also wrapped the whale’s mouth. The whale was in an extremely unfavorable situation, and its health was rapidly deteriorating.
The four divers wasted no time; they immediately jumped into the water and got to work. They approached the colossus carefully, trying not to scare it off. The divers knew they had to work quickly and efficiently, but at the same time carefully, so as not to injure the whale any more than it already was. It was an unpredictable situation because, after all, it was a wild animal. The outcome of this rescue operation was uncertain. Nevertheless, the dedicated experts were determined to do everything they could to put the animal out of its suffering.
Gigi Torres, a 32-year-old marine biologist, was one of these incredible divers. As the owner and operator of the Albatross Diving Club in Spain, she had seen a lot. But this encounter was something very special and unique. After all, it’s not every day that you get to interact with a giant humpback whale.
The beginning was tense as the divers jumped into the water and swam towards the tied and distressed whale. According to Gigi’s body language assessment, the whale showed some shyness and nervousness when it saw the divers approaching. She said the bubbles thrown up by the divers’ swimming seemed to make the whale particularly nervous. But the divers remained calm and collected, showing that they wanted to help the poor animal and hopefully calm it down.
The divers started at the whale’s head and carefully cut open the net to free its mouth. Then they worked their way down his body. The rescue operation was very well coordinated, although the divers reported that they had little need to discuss a common plan of action. It was as if they all knew what role they had to play and how best to save the humpback whale. The divers circled the whale to cut through the net on all sides and avoid that it gets tangled or puts unnecessary strain on the already injured whale. They had to be careful with their knives so as not to cause the whale any more pain or suffering.
Imagine the nerve-wracking scene, or better yet, watch the footage of the divers looking so small next to this huge whale. And now things get really exciting. The experts have completed the first part of their enormous task. The whale’s mouth was free. That must have been a huge relief for the humpback whale.
However, what happened next was absolutely unbelievable. Gigi said the whale knew it was being helped, and that’s why it stayed very quiet the whole time. He could also have made the divers’ work more difficult by lashing out out of fear. But surprisingly, he did exactly the opposite. The whale actually started cooperating with the divers.
The humpback whale relaxed and remained calm, allowing the divers to work even faster. The divers understood the animal’s body language and diligently cut the net without touching the whale’s flesh. In less than an hour, just 45 minutes, the net that had covered the whale’s entire body was gone. They worked from head to tail so that at the end of the process, the whale could easily swim out of the net. According to Gigi, the whale ended up giving a little wiggle to shed what was left of the net on its tail. Finally, he was free again. He was able to move again and swim without restriction.
But what happens next will touch your heart. They expected it to simply swim away like most other animals would have done. But this whale had made friends with the divers. To everyone’s surprise, the whale did not swim away immediately after being released. Instead, he stayed with the divers for a short time. The divers remained in the water to check whether the whale was okay. “Swimming with the humpback whale was just amazing,” Gigi said.
When the team went back to the boats after some time, the whale did something unexpected again. He stuck his tail fin up out of the water and seemed to thank his rescuers one last time. The divers agreed it was a deliberate gesture. The whale gave a thank you sign before swimming away.
