Wildlife crews have successfully freed a 12-metre humpback whale found entangled in fishing line near Perth after a rescue mission spanning two days.
The distressed whale was first reported to Parks and Wildlife on Wednesday when it was spotted near Fremantle.
DBCA Swan Coastal Acting District Manager Melissa Evans said untangling the whale was a complicated task.
“The line was wrapped around the fins, went through the mouth and then around the body,” she said.
“We managed to get a satellite tag on the animal and had some attempts at cutting the lines on the animal.”
Crews tracked the animal overnight as it moved towards Rottnest island, then made a second attempt to free it at first light.
“It was a challenge to cut the right lines at the right time to free that animal,” Evans said.
After four hours of determined effort, the rescue team finally managed to free the whale.
Evans said it was “a fantastic result.”
Every year thousands of whales move from WA’s south to the north, with the annual migration now underway, people are asked to look out for any mammals in distress.
This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.
