Spanish divers conducted a daring underwater rescue to free a 40-foot-long humpback whale that was trapped in an illegal fishing net off the coast of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands.
Gigi Torras, one of the divers who participated in the rescue, described it as the “best birthday present ever.”
She also believed that the massive creature showed her a small sign of gratitude.
She described the experience to Reuters as “It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, it was incredible, just incredible.”
The sighting was only the third time a humpback whale has been spotted in the waters around the Balearic Islands.
The Palma de Mallorca Aquarium’s marine rescue center was alerted by a ship after it spotted the distressed whale about 3 miles (4.83 km) off the coast of Mallorca.
They discovered the whale completely caught up in the red netting, incapable of opening its mouth.
When initial attempts to cut the net from a boat proved futile, divers from the Albatros and Skualo diving centers collaborated on the mission and carefully removed the mesh using their knives for a risky 45-minute operation.
The owner of the Albatrol diving center, Torras, recounted, “Initially, she was a bit anxious for about 10 seconds, with bubbles everywhere, but then I don’t know, call me crazy but I think she knew we were there to help her and she just relaxed and we started working from the front of her mouth backwards.”
”We kept cutting and cutting and she shook herself a bit to get free,” Torras added. Afterward, the animal stayed with the four divers for a while to regain its strength, and even appeared to show “a little sign of gratitude” before swimming away.
Drift nets were banned by the United Nations three decades ago because they catch not only the intended fish but also a large number of other marine animals.
Watch the video below.
