Successful rescue

Young humpback whale gets caught in Sydney Harbor

In Australia, a young humpback whale has strayed into Sydney Harbour and become entangled in ropes and buoys. It was only freed after 22 hours on Friday. 

Rescue workers approached the large marine mammal in a rubber dinghy and held it with special equipment so that they could cut the ropes.

The rescue was successful late on Friday morning: the whale was freed and swam back into the open sea.

Whale expert Jessica Fox from the Australian Whale Rescue and Research Organization said the efforts to save the whale were "incredible".

She said it was not unusual for whales to enter the waters of Sydney Heads in the harbor entrance. "But for a whale to become entangled in Sydney Harbour is extremely rare."

Humpback whales no longer endangered

Humpback whales used to be heavily hunted and were almost wiped out. At one point, there were only an estimated 1500 left in Australian waters. Since the humpback whale hunt was banned in 1965, however, populations have recovered: the population in the Southern Hemisphere is now estimated to be more than 40,000 animals again - almost as many as before the whale hunt.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) no longer classifies humpback whales as endangered. Australia has also removed the large marine mammals from its list of endangered species.