You might think that because Humpback whales are so big, they will never need help from humans. But judging from this story, it’s not necessarily true.
James Moskito is a professional diver, and he volunteered to be in charge of making a tremendous effort to free a humpback whale that was caught off the coast of San Francisco.
“I was the first diver in the water, and my heart sank when I saw all the wires around it”, Moskito recalls.
The whale was trapped in ropes and many strings, and Moskito and other divers had to rescue him.
“Some of the ropes went 10 cm deep into his skin. So I’ve put my hand on the whale and said, ‘OK, this is going to hurt’. The whale cooperated, he would open his mouth and one of the divers was putting his hand inside taking out pieces of rope”.
After a rescue operation that lasted more than five hours, the whale was finally released from the ropes that weighs more than 1500 pounds! How did the whale respond to those who released him during this heroic operation? According to Moskito, the whale swam around them and was rubbing them. Then he dived under the water, and came back to the water, and came to Moskito and rubbed him and showed him affection. According to Moskito.
“During 26 years of military service, I took part in numerous and dangerous rescue operations, but none were satisfying as this extraction. None”.