Photographer Films a Humpback Whale Off Hawaii’s Coast and Soon Realizes It’s In Grave Danger

A humpback whale received timely treatment due to a photographer’s genuine efforts. The incident unfolded off the coast of Hawaii, according to PetaPixel. A photographer named John Kowitz and his team spotted a pair of humpback whales. To capture the images, they sent a drone after them. The footage brought back by the drone startled the group. It was evident that one of the whales was in some serious trouble. Hundreds of feet of fishing gear and chains were embedded deep into its skull, which it was dragging through the ocean. The other whale was evidently consoling the injured one during the ordeal.

Kowitz recounted the entire incident on social media. Initially, the team noted that the whale was dragging the fishing gear; it was only after zooming in that the entire picture got clear. They decided to use an equipment called Insta360 to get underwater visuals of the area where the affected whale was swimming. The objective was to figure out the extent of entanglement and help rescuers in their pursuit. Kowitz, along with his crew, monitored the whale until the rescuers arrived at the site. The team did not try to detangle the mammal because they did not have the required expertise. They did not want to make the situation worse for the already suffering mammal.

The team moved away from the site after trained local rescuers arrived at the scene. The photographer's final update in the video read, "Later, we received word from the team that they were able to cut all the lines and the whale was freed." The whale also showcased an improvement in its condition, as it started to swim faster after the removal of all the equipment.

Kowitz was elated by the news. He was scared that the situation could have ended badly for the whale without any intervention. “I knew that could be a death sentence for a whale,” Kowitz said, according to The Dodo. He was instructed by the rescuers to take as many pictures of the injured whale as possible, so that the rescue team could prepare well in advance. The local rescue team used special cutting tools to remove the fishing gear and chains attached to the whale. “The entire process took over five hours,” the photographer shared. “They removed over 200 feet of line, fishing gear, and chains.”

In the caption, the photographer mentioned that 10 feet of chain, several hooks, and a large portion of the line were removed. After the removal, an asymmetrical cut was made close to its mouth. The experts hoped that this cut would allow the whale to throw out the line that was running through its mouth. "This was one of the most successful disentanglement efforts of the season, and this whale will most likely survive to live a much longer and healthier life once given time to recover," Kowitz concluded.

This is not the first time Kowitz has seen an animal hurt due to such entanglement. In the past, he has witnessed several sharks and turtles going through the same issue. Hence, he requests people to be careful with their equipment and care more about the ocean in general. “Those of us in it every day see the damage commercial fishing, plastic pollution, and toxic runoff from land are causing,” he added.