A humpback whale calf found tangled in shark nets off the coast of Australia was freed by rescuers.
The nets are suspended from buoys about 500 meters (547 yards) away from the beach to protect swimmers from shark attacks.
The marine park said despite its minor injuries, the calf swam away with its mother after it was released.
“The calf had some superficial wounds from the entanglement, but nothing life-threatening, and swam away with its mother when released,” Sea World Gold Coast said in a statement, ABC reported.
Sea World Director of Marine Sciences Trevor Long said the rescue was a distressing experience.
“It was a very, very young calf—heavily engaged in the net, it was almost enveloped in the net—so quite distressing for the calf and quite distressing for the mother,” Long told ABC reporters.
“The mother was very close to the calf and very close to us and very interested in what we were doing,” he said.
“I honestly believe the mother realized we were helping the calf and not injuring the calf and that was why she was calm,” he added.
