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Whale "thanks" coast guard after rope rescue

───   16:38 Mon, 29 Aug 2016

Whale "thanks" coast guard after rope rescue | News Article

Cape Town - Coastguard staff have described how a humpback whale freed from netting thanked them by "hugging" the side of their boat, and then followed them for twenty minutes.

Volunteers from the South African Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN) were called out after a report that a whale was entangled in netting off the coast of Cape Point yesterday morning. 

Two NSRI rescue craft found a 9m Humpback whale in the vicinity of Rocky Banks in False Bay trapped between two floatation buoys and two trawling lines. 

NSRI spokesperson, Craig Lambinon, says after an operation which lasted five hours, all ropes and the floatation buoys were removed. He says in a most incredible reaction from the animal, the whale swam right up alongside the sea rescue craft, almost hugging the rescue boat and then gently placed his head on the gunnel of the sea rescue craft. 

The whale remained close to the boat for almost 20 minutes before swimming away.  

The South African Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN) was formed in 2006 to deal with increased whale entanglements around the South African coastline.

News24


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