Rare photos capture incredible whale rescue off Australian coast

Drone images helped rescuers on the water plan their mission to free the juvenile humpback whale. Source: ORRCA

A mission to save an entangled whale off Australia’s east coast has been captured in a series of rare aerial photographs. They were snapped this week as a multi-agency team worked to free the giant mammal as it swam along the NSW Central Coast.

Ordinarily, flying a drone within 100 metres of a whale would be illegal because the disturbance can interfere with their migration. But because it was difficult to assess the whale’s condition at sea, an exemption was made for a skilled operator from rescue group ORRCA to snap close-up pictures.

Images were first taken on Monday so the project’s leader, National Parks and Wildlife Service, could assess the entanglement and formulate a plan about how they’d need to manoeuvre around the whale and cut the ropes.

The drone images helped the rescuers understand exactly where each rope was caught on the whale’s body. Source: ORRCA

Initially, the whale was aggressive towards its rescuers. Source: ORRCA

“Then every time they’d do a cut, I’d relay some images back to them to show the changes in the entanglement,” the ORRCA drone pilot told Yahoo News.

It was Sunday afternoon when reports from the public were first received about the juvenile humpback being entangled in fishing gear off Sydney’s northern beaches. With light fading fast, a decision was made to halt rescue attempts until first light.

On Monday, the whale was spotted swimming further north through Pittwater, towards Broken Bay and Umina. NSW Water Police and Marine Rescue NSW monitored the situation from their vessels as teams of rescuers worked to free the struggling animal from a web of buoys and rope.

“The entanglement was around its body, around its tail, around one of its [pectoral fins] as well. Because the mammal was in distress, it was acting quite aggressively,” the drone operator said.

“I didn’t know what was actually going on.”

Remarkably, as the rescue continued over the next four to five hours, the drone pilot noticed the whale’s behaviour was changing.

“It was interesting to watch as the hours unfolded. When they did the first cut, it splashed its tail quite aggressively. But over time, it seemed to realise the rescuers were there to help. At one point, it was just staying in one spot, not moving at all, allowing the boats to come close and move the rope away.”

It took four to five hours for the multi-agency team to free the whale. Source: ORRCA

When ropes and nets aren’t quickly removed, they can cut into whale flesh or even sever their fins.

Because the entanglement was relatively fresh, there wasn’t any visible damage to the humpback. Rescuers were unable to remove two small pieces of rope from its body, but they're confident they'll fall off. 

Fishing net entanglement is a growing problem for whales as they migrate up Australia’s coastline. There were two other humpback whales freed from entanglements off the NSW coast earlier this month.

In Queensland, they face the added threat of shark nets, which are left to dangle precariously in waters throughout the year, regularly catching inexperienced calves or their mothers as they come in close to shore. In NSW, they are removed during the winter.

Dragging buoys can tire whales, and the rope can cut into their skin, causing infection or loss of limbs. Source: ORRCA

This Sunday, ORRCA will be hosting its 26th Annual Whale Census, an event where everyday Aussies are urged to head to the beach to witness the annual humpback migration.

An estimated 40,000 whales are expected to migrate up the east coast this year. Anyone wishing to participate in the count is asked to register on ORRCA’s website and download the app.

This article originally appeared on Yahoo News Australia at https://au.news.yahoo.com/rare-photos-capture-incredible-whale-rescue-off-australian-coast-040547195.html

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