Humpback Whale Puts On Show For Men Who Saved Her (video)

[madmom]

When Michael Fishbach set out for his day of boating around the beautiful waters of the Sea of Cortez, he probably didn't think that it would be the day he and his friends would become wildlife heroes. As luck would have it, that's exactly what happened.

The group came upon a stranded humpback whale who was so tangled in a mesh of nylon netting that she was beginning to drown, and as Fishbach noted in this video, was possibly an hour from death. The crew worked tirelessly for more than an hour to free the stranded whale and, to their elation, eventually succeeded. Then, magic happened.

For miles on their ride home, the whale put on a beautiful show -- perhaps to say "thank you" to her rescuers?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/14/humpback-whale-video_n_898859.html

[lamp_shade]

1. Wonderful story. I saw it earlier today posted on facebook.

[CaptRandom]

2. Nice!

that was awesome, thanks for posting it...

[Suich]

4. Wow! I've never seen anyone with 1 post!

Welcome to DU, CaptRandom!

:party: :party: :party:

[slay]

6. Yes, Welcome to DU CaptRandom!

:toast: :party: :hi:

[Liberalynn]

3. That was beautiful

Thanks for sharing that.

[Cleita]

5. When you get so fed up with humanity that you feel

it's hopeless, a beautiful story like this of man helping beast comes along. Thank you for making my day less depressing.

[Cetacea]

45. K&R

Humans can be good little beasts. I love how gentle the other beasts continue to be with the land locked variety. :)

[MissDeeds]

81. +1

[sasha031]

7. thank you so much for posting / k/r

a happy ending for a magnificent creature

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. That was beautiful. Thank you.

[Guilded Lilly]

86. Crybaby here, too. So simple. So beautiful.

[graywarrior]

9. Incredible. Made me cry.

[RebelOne]

17. Me too. And I cried even more when the whale was freed. n/t

[graywarrior]

21. Yeah. That was awesome.

[freshwest]

29. +1

[MrMickeysMom]

52. plus one more tears

... joyful ones

[CleanGreenFuture]

70. Watching that whale dancing across the water did it for me.

[KT2000]

79. Yes - magnificent! n/t

[tammywammy]

10. That was amazing. Rec n/t

[amborin]

11. very uplifting!

[CJvR]

12. Lovely!

A real "I met Lassie" moment.

[Booster]

13. I would have loved to have been on that boat. Beautiful. I also

recall another whale video where after they freed him from a net he/she went around to each one and nudged them as if to thank them. Some of the men cried when that happened. I love whales.

[Kaleko]

64. It takes great courage to go near a trapped whale.

They can kill you with an inadvertent swipe of their tail. It's a fact that whales and dolphins are highly aware creatures, and I'm sure that they are capable of feeling immense gratitude among many other emotions.

[Cetacea]

75. PSA: human beasties are dangerous. Whales? Never.

People everywhere should never be afraid of these intelligent individuals. All cetaceans, including killer whales, have an ethical code to not harm human creature-animal-beasts. They take extreme care not to accidentally damage human beasties with their powerful and huge bodies. They also have large and powerful brains.

If you see one in trouble, help him/her.

[Kaleko]

90. Thank you for telling me that, Cetacea.

I was echoing the fears of the main rescuer in the video that he might inadvertently be killed. What you say rings true with me, though, on a more general, big-picture level.

[Cetacea]

92. You're welcome. Thank you for your post as well.

I think that my response was inappropriate now. Thanks for tolerating it.

[blue neen]

14. What a touching story!

Beautiful, just beautiful. :)

[CatWoman]

15. Niagra Falls here

:cry:

:loveya:

[aquart]

16. Absolutely to say THANK YOU!

[lucca18]

18. So beautiful in every way......Thank You

[jwirr]

19. Celebration of life.

[KittyWampus]

20. I love this video.

[Historic NY]

22. Fishbach = "Fish back" come one really.. great story.

[bahrbearian]

23. This is a great story , the same story I love to tell ,about Port Moller AK

In 1982 we were fishing off Port Moller gill netting Sockeye. Nice day and two whales come up the beach heading North. Mother and Calf Humpback, they both got tangled in the net (120 mess) turned out to sea and drug us (32' gillneter). they drug us 9 miles out before we were able to free them,, waves were breaking over the transom. we finally got them free they were very happy, we were very happy,thought we lost 120 fathoms of net. but we couldn't even find land on the radar, we were so far out, the beach is very low there for miles. but we set a heading and had a beer, which we keep for emergency. upon edit Gillnets Suck.

[lunatica]

24. This is a wonderful story

The whale knew she was being helped and she was grateful. The humans did a very good deed indeed. It's a wonderfully uplifting story.

[jasperilla]

25. Thanks so much!!! That made my day n/t

[ljm2002]

26. That's the second time I've watched it...

...and it's just as good as the first time.

Bravo! to those people for saving the trapped whale, and what a nice reward they got for their efforts!

K&R

[madmom]

27. You are all quite welcome...since the mood around here has been

ugly, I thought it might help. I'm glad it did.:grouphug:

[joshcryer]

28. Wonderful.

[Elwood P Dowd]

30. The video of this on the YouTube site has 60 "dislikes".

60 repukes no doubt. They hate stuff like this. The whale should have pulled herself up by the bootstraps and freed herself.

[FlaGranny]

34. Or maybe 60

Japanese whalers.

[gristy]

53. You expected something different?

No videos on youtube have zero dislikes. We live in a heterogeneous society, and this is just one small evidence of that. There's also the folks who "dislike" and "unrec" just to upset whoever they can. Better to not give notice to their efforts.

[JDPriestly]

31. Wonderful reminder that animals are part of the universal soul.

[defendandprotect]

66. +1

[Ichingcarpenter]

32. Yes, extremely moving

I noticed it was posted in DU video section but didn't get the views or nominations it deserved....
I try to post it and found out Omaha Steve already did.

[Pooka Fey]

33. Wow!!! K&R

[WVRICK13]

35. Thank You

I needed that. The whale is definitely showing her thanks.

[trud]

36. the manufacture of gill nets should be illegal,

since nothing seems to stop "people" from using them.

Some days I think how much better the planet would be if the human race just vanished.

[sulphurdunn]

49. When a boat loses a gillnet

the net floats around continuing to fish until it catches so many fish it sinks to the bottom. When the catch rots the net floats back to the surface and continues fishing until it catches enough fish to sink and later rise to fish and sink again and again.

[trud]

74. crap

That rising to the surface repeatedly is worse than I thought.

[sulphurdunn]

77. Becasue they're made of

monofilament nylon they can take many years to biodegrade.

[Rockholm]

37. What a great thing to read first thing this morning.

It will make my day.

[malaise]

38. That is way too fabulous

Thank you

[Botany]

39. Good for the whale, the helpers, and the earth

[Divernan]

76. Cue: Ode to JOY ! ! !

[Botany]

91. no problem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wod-MudLNPA




someday if we all live long enough and learn to speak to the whales we will have much to explain .....

[yardwork]

40. Thank you for posting this.

[Cetacea]

41. Such magnificant creatures. (The whales as well)

Thank you wayward humans!

[Esse Quam Videri]

42. Thanks so much for sharing

Great video to start my weekend!

[rucky]

43. Here's a non-Huffpo link:

http://www.globalanimal.org/2011/07/10/spellbinding-humpback-whale-rescue-captured-on-video/45035/

[Viva_La_Revolution]

44. thank you rucky!

:)

[Faygo Kid]

46. K&R a thousand times

She knew what they did for her. Jaw-dropping video.

[MissDeeds]

83. Exactly

Thanks for the pic of JFK. JFK Jr. died July 16, 1999, twelve years ago today. They loved the sea, and the many gifts it brought us.


:cry:

[Faygo Kid]

84. Wow, 12 years to the day since JFK Jr. died.

I didn't know that. I know Harry Chapin died 30 years ago today, but didn't know this was the anniversary of JFK Jr. Unbelievable how tragedy has struck that family.

[MissDeeds]

85. I'll never forget that day

My husband and I were shopping in a nearby town when we saw Dan Rather on television. I told my husband that there must be something big happening if Rather was doing a middle of the day, weekend newscast. When we got home and turned on CNN, I remember yelling "This is bullshit!" I could not believe that this marvelous man had died, and that the Kennedy clan was once again subjected to unbelievable loss and tragedy. Does God have no mercy?

I think of JFK Jr. often and what might have been...and it breaks my heart.

[RainDog]

47. k&r n/t

[dorksied]

48. Videos like this restore a bit of my faith in humanity.

I cried a little watching this amazing video...

[undeterred]

59. Diving in the water to save a frightened whale-

takes guts, compassion, and skill.

:applause:

[a kennedy]

50. A W E S O M E

:applause:

[MrMickeysMom]

51. God, was this ever GREAT...

The little child knew she was happy because she was free.

[nolabear]

54. Think how fine a place the world would be if we just looked after one another.

Thank you for the morning joy.

[femrap]

55. No point in living if you

can't live free.

[lunatica]

56. kick for others to watch

[Wait Wut]

57. Thank you for sharing.

It made me cry. What a beautiful young lady.

[Pisces]

58. Absolutely beautiful.

[myrna minx]

60. Magnificent. K&R n/t

[dhill926]

61. incredible........

thanks for this......

[Divernan]

62. These nets are known as Walls of Death by environmentalists

It is not local communities' fishermen, but commercial fleets and "pirate" fishermen which continue using illegal "drift nets" -- nets more than 1.5 MILES long -- that create a "wall of death" in the ocean, trapping vast amounts of unwanted fish, marine mammals and seabirds along with their intended prey.

Bad enough when the illegal nets are deployed and then hauled back in to commercial boats, or "pirate" boats, but when approached by coast guard or other officials, the fishermen cut away the net to get rid of evidence.
The indestruct­ible and INVISIBLE plastic/nylon nets, more than a mile long and maybe 25 feet deep, then float off into the ocean, carried by the currents. They are called by conservati­onists "Walls of Death," entangling and killing every living thing in their paths. They float for months or years, until the animals they have entangled finally weight down the net to the ocean floor, where the sealife is eaten by other sealife or rots and then the net starts drifting again. Picture a whole pod of whales or dolphins entangled and struggling­. Scuba divers carry dive knives, not to fight off rampaging tropical fish, but to be able to cut themselves or their dive buddy free should they become entangled.

These nets were declared illegal because by killing ALL life in their paths, they destroy sustainabl­e levels of fish for future fishing.

[defendandprotect]

63. Loved it -- thank you !!!

Loved the response of the rescuers -- and the whale --

either of which could have been so frightened of one another that the rescue might

not have happened!!

Thankfully, it did -- !!

Loved seeing the "thank you" --


:)


PS: This is the way our lives are enriched --

not by dollar bills!

[lonestarnot]

65. Fanfuckingtastic!

:woohoo: :bounce: Thanks for sharing!

[Divernan]

67. Sustainable fishing - no gill nets - saves whales, dolphins, turtles, etc.

Between the years 1992-2002 there was a 21% increase in global consumption of seafood <15>. Over 1 billion people on the planet depend on fish as the main protein of their diet. Without sustainable fisheries, these communities would face economic crisis and hunger. Such a high demand for seafood around the world creates the need for industrial fishing techniques. The fishing industry supports about 200 million livelihoods including: fishermen, processing, packaging, transport, restaurants, and retail.

The Marine Stewardship Council was created in 1997 by two global organizations, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Unilever. The MSC is an organization that supports and rewards sustainable fisheries. The core standards are: sustainability of fish stocks, maintenance of ecosystem, and responsible management. Well managed fisheries make it possible for consumers to enjoy the variety of seafood we are accustomed to while maintaining adequate fish stocks to supply future generations of consumers. Sustainable fisheries have also developed fishing methods that eliminate, or greatly reduce, by-catch. Sustainable seafood products that are MSC certified are marked with a blue Eco label to make it easy for consumers to find these products. Buying products with these Eco labels not only support sustainable fisheries, but also protect fishing communities and employment opportunities.

CONSUMERS' GUIDE TO CHOOSING SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD

By choosing to eat sustainable seafood or asking restaurants where their fish come from, consumers influence retailers to adjust their supply. A major difference can be made to conserve the ocean’s resources if individuals make educated decisions on the kind of seafood they eat, where, and how it is harvested. There are many seafood guides, such as Seafood Watch, that point consumers in the direction of the best choices of seafood. These guides are divided into three categories that show the best, good alternatives, and worst choices in seafood and explain the degree to which each choice is environmentally friendly. Consumers’ decision to eat sustainable seafood supports a community of change in large scale fisheries’ methods. Hundreds of fisheries are taking the steps toward sustainable certification and these numbers increase with consumers’ demand for sustainable seafood.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

68. BRAVO

:toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast:

[CleanGreenFuture]

69. That was one happy whale at the end. I'm convinced it was equal measures of

elation, relief, and gratitude.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

71. Someone, please pass the tissues???

:cry:

[GCP]

72. That's a sentient being

How whalers can live with themselves is beyond me.

[anamandujano]

73. Those heroes will never have a "life is not worth living" moment.

They will always feel they were in the right place at the right time, the elation will be revisited a million times. Their lives have been transformed.

Nice legs too! :P

[libodem]

78. OMG

Happy tears.

[MissDeeds]

80. Absolutely awesome!

This brought me to tears, but in a good way. Thanks so much, madmom, for bringing this to our attention. It made my day!

Big K&R

[11 Bravo]

82. Wow ... just ... wow. Thanks for sharing this.

[NewJeffCT]

87. excellent story - thanks for sharing

but, who are the 65 people who disliked this video on youtube?

[liberal N proud]

88. If that doesn't make your heart go thump

It's too late.

[mahina]

89. I needed that today!

Thank you!

[annabanana]

93. Pure unadulterated JOY!. . thanks for posting!. . . . n/t

[kath]

94. Wow. Amazing! Thanks so much for posting this.

[defendandprotect]

95. KICK ... for those who didn't get to see this yet --- !!

[shanti]

96. another kick for the whales!

i love them :) i hope she made it back to her pod...