A rescue mission to save an injured whale has been resumed after it had been postponed on May 29.
What happened?
The rescue mission was initiated after a humpback whale got entangled in the ropes at the Sydney Harbour.
The whale was cruising along its usual route off the coast of Bondi Beach when its whole body got entangled in thick ropes. It had visible injuries as the rope had cut into it.
Ensnared within ropes
It has been believed that the whale had been ensnared with the rope for two days.
Justin Hawco from the Whale Watching Sydney tour group said, “The rope was attached to a fish trap and had wrapped around the animal multiple times. We got in closer and we tried to establish what the line was wrapped around. It was through the mouth, around one of the pectoral fins and then back to the tail. It had probably six wraps around the tail and then from there straight down to the fish trap”.
Rescue mission initiated
A rescue mission to free the whale had been launched on May 29 and a part of the rope was cut away from the animal, however it is believed that the whale is still partially constricted.
The National Park authorities have planned to resume the mission today by using a helicopter and assistance boats to locate the whale, which is believed to be moving north, in an attempt to cut away the remainder of the rope.
After almost two hours, they managed to cut some of the rope free.
Jonas Liebschner from Whale Watching Sydney said, “It was moving slowly, looked exhausted, and as the boat got closer we could see it had ropes wrapped around its tail and its pectoral fin and head”.
Mr Liebschner said the vessel had to move on, after more than two hours, but that the animal was able to move more freely than before.
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Source: 9 News
