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Several Spanish divers managed to save the life of a 12-foot-long humpback whale that had been trapped in an illegal fishing net after a bold operation to cut the net and release the mammal.
The whale had stumbled over the weekend on the special net collection of the last sea creatures, overlooking the coast of Mallorca.
This was only the third time the species had been seen in the Balearic Sea region but the joy of locals and researchers was quickly dampened when they saw that the animal was in trouble from the net left around its mouth.
Specialists were alerted when the giant creature was spotted by a boat a few miles off shore.
Divers from the Palma de Mallorca Aquarium were then sent to try to free the animal from the net, which could pose other dangers to the wild.
One of the divers involved in the operation, marine biologist Gigi Torras, said that after the release the whale had given him a small token of thanks.
The 32-year-old said: “It was an incredible experience. For the first 10 seconds or so she got a little nervous, started bubbling, but then something changed. You call me crazy but she realized we were there to help her and just relaxed by letting us work by cutting the net from her mouth and back.
But this was not the first attempt to save the whale, as the group of divers was joined by activists from the diving centers Albatros and Skualo.
Torras added: “I kept waiting and waiting for the net until the whale gave a slight jolt, freeing itself from it.”
She added that it took 45 minutes of work to free the animal from the ropes. The whale had stood a few minutes round the four divers to regain power, and then left.
Massive nets released at the bottom of the sea have been banned for decades after killing large amounts of marine wildlife in addition to the fish it is supposed to catch.
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