Two Whales Freed from Life-Threatening Entanglements by Trained Rescue Responders in Hawaii

Trained responders at the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary undertook the life-saving detangling operations for the whales

Getty Stock Image of Humpback Whale

Getty

Stock Image of Humpback Whale

Two humpback whales swam to freedom after local responders helped the animals escape life-threatening entanglements.

In separate incidents on Jan. 8 and 9, both off the coast of Maui, Hawaii, trained local responders received reports about the entanglement and led rescue operations to save the struggling whales, according to reports by Hawaii News Now, Kauai Now, and The Maui News.

After a local tour boat operator reported a stuck whale, staff at the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary — a nationally recognized and protected whale habitat that also assists with scientific and conservation efforts — led a team of rescuers on Jan. 8 to help detangle the whale.

When the responders reached the scene, The Maui News reported, the team discovered roughly 200 feet of gauge line circling the whale's mouth and tail — a situation so severe that it's unlikely the whale would have been able to free itself, according to sanctuary's staff.

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The team launched a small, inflatable boat from its larger t vessel so team members could cut the whale free from the gauge line.

A day after freeing the first whale, the sanctuary received a call of a similar situation: People on the shore, who were flying drones, reported another entangled whale struggling in the ocean.

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Once again, trained responders from the sanctuary jumped into action, this time discovering an adult humpback wrapped in an even heavier gauge line. The line was around the animal's body and constricting its right pectoral flipper, per The Maui News.

Getty Stock Images of Humpback Whale

Getty

Stock Images of Humpback Whale

The team removed the wrappings around the whale's body and made a single cut to the line pinning the whale's right flipper, but couldn't remove all of the potentially life-threatening gear before the whale swam off.

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According to Kauai Now, after the rescue operations, scientists determined that the gear tangled around the whales originated from a humpback whale feeding ground off the coast of Alaska. More work is underway to determine the exact source of the gauge line to reduce future entanglement incidents.

Per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, gear entanglement poses a significant threat to large whales — often interfering with their ability to swim, feed, and breathe. Though they can sometimes free themselves, whales can remain entangled for days, weeks, or even years, according to the agency.

Still, entanglements are “not necessarily life-threatening at the onset,” per the NOAA, as trained teams like those in Hawaii can sometimes intervene and remove the equipment.

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