Featured Image Credit: Oscar Hopps/KRBD.org
By Eva Gruber
Alaska is a huge place, and its 30,000 residents are stretched pretty thin over its hundreds of bays, inlets, and shores. Therefore it’s not a big surprise that it took a few days before a boat crew noticed an entangled humpback whale in Ketchikan Bay, in Southeast Alaska.
Apparently, the humpback had been feeding in the krill-rich waters of Ketchikan Bay, when it clamped its jaws down on a inch-and-a-quarter thick cable that was attached to a 7,000 pound anchor. The cable became wrapped around the animal, and so the whale must have spun in alarm, which caused the cable to further twist back on itself, forming an inescapable noose. Being stuck in this position for at least a few days must have been tortuous on the poor whale, and it is a fortunate surprise that it survived through the traumatic ordeal.
The rescue effort was organized by Rick Olson, the owner of Olson Marine whose crew discovered the whale. Crews from Alaska Commercial Divers and Seawind Aviation also cooperated in the rescue efforts. In analyzing the problem, they initially thought that the divers would need to descend down to remove the cable from the anchor. Instead, they realized that they could bring the whale up to the surface by gently bringing the cable up.
They placed the tangled whale next to their boat, where the cable was pulled up from underneath it and the rescuers were thus able to sever it. Afterwards they were able to slowly unwind the remaining cable using a sort-of pulley system. Oscar Hopps of Alaska Commercial Divers said that the animal seemed to understand that these humans were helping it, and was as cooperative as such a huge animal could be.
The whale was released from the cable and seemed to have sustained only minor injuries – scrapes to its skin, although a full examination could not be performed. Hopps said that it seemed exhausted after the ordeal, as could be imagined surviving being tangled for days. It was incredible luck that the cable did not prevent the animal from reaching the surface to breathe.
Hopps said that the rescue was incredibly meaningful for him and his crew. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, for sure,” he said. NOAA received a report of the incident, and requested pictures so that the individual could be identified. According to NOAA, entanglements are one of the leading causes of death to whales.