Stunning footage shows whale freed after being tangled in anchored chain

Footage has emerged of a juvenile whale being rescued from being entangled in a chain and float anchored to the seafloor, off the coast of Tonga.

In the footage, the female humpback whale is seen thrashing around in the water, struggling to escape from the chain wrapped around its tail.

After it tires out, whale guides from Matafonua Lodge, a local resort, work to cut the chain off its tail.

Speaking to Ryan Bridge on Herald NOW, one of the rescuers, Miesa Grobbelaar, who captured the footage, said the most “incredible thing” was the whale not swimming off straight away after it was cut free.

“She actually turned and looked towards us for what felt like an hour, actually.”

@matafonua

This event happened in the Ha’apai region of the kingdom of Tonga on Friday Aug 1st The rescue was conducted by the whale guides from Matafonua Lodge Underwater footage by @Wylde.photography #matafonua #sandybeach #haapai #tonga #fyp

♬ original sound - Matafonua and Sandy Beach

Recounting last Friday’s rescue, Grobbelaar said it was “quite a challenge”, with the crew approaching slowly at first.

“The sounds that came from her were quite guttural, quite raw, actually very emotional,” Grobbelaar said.

The whale wasn’t sure what to make of the rescuers at first, with the first diver in the water, Dickie, being hit in the head.

Dickie calmed the whale down, then took the weight off by holding the float up, which allowed other crew members Aaron and Toby to go in and cut the chain.

The experience was “heartbreaking, very eye-opening and somewhat beautiful to witness”, Grobbelaar said.

“We’ve been very lucky to swim with these whales, they give us so much, so it was really nice to give something back,” she said.

Grobbelaar said looking into the whale’s eye was quite a personal experience, and made her feel connected to a “bigger purpose”.

“You almost feel like you’re invading in nature a little bit.

“The connection you feel to something bigger than just human is quite amazing.”

The crew aren’t sure what the object of the whale’s struggle is but suspect that it could have been a fishing buoy or a fish-aggregating device.

“Hopefully we won’t be seeing too many of those around.”

The crew followed the whale for a while after it swam off, Grobbelaar said.

“She came up, had a breath and just seemed to be going about her day. So hopefully she remembers.”