A humpback whale was rescued early on Friday after it was spotted with its tail tangled in fishing debris in Australia’s Sydney Harbor on Thursday.
Rescuers in rubber dinghies attempted to slow the animal down by attaching orange floats to increase its resistance as it swam through the water.
They had to wait patiently for the whale to tire itself out. After getting close enough, the rescuers then used blades attached to poles to safely cut the fishing lines free. The whale then took off, swimming south out of the harbor.