The local newspaper recently carried a story about a remarkable rescue of a baby whale. Since I finished my series on Julie's "rescue" by a lifeguard with a kayak yesterday, I thought I would tell the story of the baby whale rescue that was in the Guanacaste Journal recently.I don't have a photo of a whale to illustrate the story, so I will use this photo of some jumping dolphins off the coast of Tamarindo, as it is the closest I have to a whale.
Recently a fishing boat on a half day charter out of Playa Flamingo, which is about 15 minutes north of Tamarindo came across a group of humpback whales near the Catalina Islands, which are some very small rocky islands just off shore. They are popular spots for snorkeling.
A 40 foot humpback whale breached completely out of the water very close to the fishing boat. A full breaching whale is usually a sign of distress. The fishing boat captain then spotted a newborn baby whale tangled in a fishing net wrapped around his head and dragging 40 meters of net and floats behind the whale. The fishermen tried to grab the net to free the whale, but it was hopelessly tangled and struggling.
The captain of the fishing boat used his cell phone and marine radio to call for help. Nearby dive boats answer the call and soon there were a group of small boats gathered to try to help, with the baby whale crying and two adult whales circling around in obvious concern.
I will conclude this story tomorrow, which I know is rather cruel, so I will at least let you know that there is a happy ending to this story.
In the meantime, if you have not yet checked out this week's photos on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site, come take a look at our photos this week showing the Mezquite Cathedral in Cordova, Spain and the Escorial outside Madrid.
8 comments:
This is a beautiful image and I'm captivated by the story, eager to hear the conclusion.
Fantastic photo of those dolphins!
Beautiful. I feel confident that this story will have a happy ending.
this is a gorgeous photo and a very gripping story. i would like to see whales from the condo. People who have stayed at the condo say they have seen whales from the balcony. It is very cool that such wonderful animals and mammals thrive in Costa Rica and that people are there to help when needed
This is a very sad story and so glad someone came to the rescue. The dolphins are beautiful and I would imagine this photo was not that easy to capture.
thank you for being a great teacher of life tonight, by photograpy and words. please have you all a wonderful sunday.
I am looking forward to tomorrow's conclusion of this story. The dolphins were captured nicely.
Wow! This is wonderful, David!
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