The NSRI were called out after someone spotted a Southern Right whale entangled in ropes. They sprung into action and untangled the whale, giving it instant relief.
A Southern Right whale was swimming just off the shore of Cape Town. Someone noticed something bright yellow trailing behind it and realised it was entangled in ropes. They immediately called the NSRI to come through and assist in removing the ropes from the majestic beauty.
The rescue took place on Tuesday afternoon off-shore of Clovelly, between Kalk Bay and Fish Hoek. The Spirit of Surfski II launched immediately, carrying SAWDN (South African Whale Disentanglement Network) cutting equipment.
“Using the SAWDN cutting gear we immediately began cutting away at the rope and we were able to cut free all of the wraps of rope which were recovered and the whale swam away appearing to be healthy and the disentanglement operation has been successful.”
The Southern Right whale was large, nearly 10 to 12 meters in length. It was entangled with at least 8 wraps of rope around its tail. The NSRI confirmed that the whale appeared to be healthy and it was very active. The rescue took just over an hour to complete.
NSRI commends the many concerned members of the public who raised the alarm and we are thankful to Cape Town Traffic Services for their assistance with traffic control on Main Road, Clovelly, and for the assistance of local radio news stations for alerting peak hour traffic users to avoid Main Road, Clovelly, and to seek alternative routes home during the incident.
So happy to hear that the whale was able to swim away with some relief in the end.
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