SeaWorld, known to be quite an abusive company when it comes to animal treatment and management, has given a refreshing performance in the recent rescue of several whales in California. SeaWorld crews this Saturday helped untie a humpback whale from fishing lines off the coast of La Jolla, San Diego.
They spent around three hours tearing through 250 feet of lines from lobster traps and floats to give the 40,000 pound animal safe space to escape and return to the ocean. The 45-foot adult whale isn’t the first to become entrapped by lines like this, the SeaWorld crew had to come to the aid of a different humpback this past Sunday.
The team commented that the whale must have been hauling the lines around for a while seeing as they found barnacles among the clutter, and although the whale resisted treatment, the team was able to remove most of the lines attached to its back. In the whales defense though, the team did admit to using knives to slice through the lines by hand.
A third whale was spotted the same day, so the crew decided to remain on standby to come to assist any other injured or impeded whales. They predict the movements are caused by the increasingly warming waters, which are bringing rich reserves of anchovies and krill to their waters and making whales more daring in their hunting.
