Heartbreaking Footage Shows Struggling Whale and Her Calf Deeply Tangled in Shark Net Before Rescue

Need to know

• A humpback whale and its calf have broken into shark nets near the main beach of Noosa in Australia on Wednesday, September 17

• An entrepreneur of the shark control program released the two whales from the net later in the evening, but they were then seen swimming with pieces of net still attached to them

• Two other whales were taken in the same area

A heartbreaking video clip shows a humpback whale and its small calf captured in nets for sharks near the main beach of Noosa on the Sunshine coast of Australia.

Drone sequences captured by Geoff Aquiuno show the moment when the mother and her baby were trapped in a shark net, the stressed mother rolling in the net to go after her calf.

The two whales have embeiled in a large shark net and had trouble freeing themselves, according to the 7 short stories in Australia. The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has confirmed that a shark control program entrepreneur had been brought to reduce the whales in the tangled net.

The mother and the calf were released from the net around 11:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday, September 17. At the time of rescue, two other whales were trapped in the same net.

“A humpback whale and calf were successfully released after being entangled in a shark net in Noosa,” said DPI spokesperson, according to 7news.

Dr. Olaf Meynecke, mammalian researcher at Griffith University in eastern Queensland, Australia, said The guardian That the humpback whales are caught in shark nets each year, but it was the first case involving four whales trapped at once.

Although the humpback whales of mother and calf were released, they were then observed with pieces of net which are always attached to it.

There are 27 shark nets in Queensland and 51 in New South Wales, The guardian Reports. Whale mothers and newborn calves tend to migrate south, which exposes them to tangle.

According to the Queensland government, the shark nets are large nets in net designed to “catch sharks crossing the area”, in particular the sharks more than 2 meters long.

In July, the Southern New Wales Government announced a trial period to eliminate controversial nets nearly three beaches in Sydney and the central coast. The trial was arrested following a deadly shark attack in Dee why. Mercury Psillakis, a professional surfer, died of the attack. He was 57 years old, according to Australian Broadcasting Company.

Whale tangles have increased in the past 10 to 15 years, said Meynecke The goalkeeper, With the vast majority of incidents involving mothers and calves.

“It seems that adults are really aware of the danger – and probably also communicate on the places of danger. But the calves obviously do not know, and have broken. Then, the moms panic and remain nearby, then they are also entangled,” said Meynecke at the exit.

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The whale scientist, Dr. Vanessa Pirotta, said The guardian The images of the whales captured in the net of Noosa were “heartbreaking”.

She said that the calves in this situation were particularly vulnerable – always dependent on their mother for milk, stressed and at risk of drowning in deep waters.

“Each tangle is likely to be different, but if it really restricts their movement and ultimately does not allow them to do anything, they can literally drown in shark nets,” said Pirotta at the point of sale.

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