Rescuing Whales

A wayward humpback whale is saved. Film before the bump.

It only took dozens of people, some heavy-duty lifting slings, a truck full of specialized marine equipment, and a small armada of boats.

All these elements recently came together to save a single being: a young, twenty-eight-foot, nine-ton Humpback whale who had swum into the shallow waters of the Coolongolook River, near the coastal town of Forster, Australia.

It takes a village! Through a coordinated effort led by the Sea World Foundation, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA), and the Forster Dive Centre, the massive creature was stabilized, guided away from the sandbanks, and steered toward freedom.