Humpback whale that ‘thanked’ divers after rescue from fishing net, died week later: “This is really depressing” | animals

Divers from the Palma Aquarium were called in on May 20 to help a humpback whale in need. The whale had slipped its mouth into an illegal fishing net off the coast of Mallorca and was unable to move. A ship’s crew had spotted the animal and alerted the Coast Guard, but they were unable to help the marine mammal. Marine biologist Gigi Torras (32) and her colleagues succeeded.

“The animal was very nervous for the first 10 seconds. You could tell by the large amount of air bubbles it produced,” Torras told British news website The Independent. After that, the whale seemed to resign itself to his situation and became very calm. “It was like he knew we were there to help. He calmed down so we could start cutting the nets,” the scientist said.

The job was done in about 45 minutes. After the rescue, the humpback whale stayed on the spot for a while to recover. According to Torras, the marine mammal even made a gesture that looked like a thank you, after which the humpback whale swam away.

All’s well that ends well? Unfortunately not, because six days later the 30-ton behemoth washed up on a beach in Tavernes de la Valldigna, a coastal town in the Spanish province of Valencia, more than 300 kilometers away. The animal was greatly weakened and showed several cuts on the dorsal fin. Shortly after the humpback whale was found last Thursday, he died, reports ‘The Independent’.

News that hits Torras hard: “It’s terrible. This is really depressing.” According to experts, the washed up animal did not stand a chance and therefore no attempt was made to pilot it back into the sea. “We would have caused more injuries and his condition would have worsened. It might have just washed up again the next day.”

The main culprit in this story is the driftnet that the humpback whale had previously entered. Since 2002, such nets, which hang like a curtain in the water, have been banned in European waters. Driftnets kill all kinds of cetaceans and other animals that have to surface to breathe. “I hope this story opens people’s eyes to the damage such nets do to oceans,” Torras concluded.