Rescuers eventually manage to free the entangled whale

Oct 1, 2013 17:11 GMT  ·  By
Humpack whale does not abandon its friend when the latter gets caught in a fishing line
   Humpack whale does not abandon its friend when the latter gets caught in a fishing line

This past weekend, a humpback whale got caught in a fishing line set up by fishermen off Long Island's coastline. What's interesting is that, until rescuers arrived at the scene and managed to free the entangled whale, one other humpback remained close by as if refusing to abandon its friend.

The two whales, dubbed Foggy and Grommet, are often seen swimming together in these waters.

Locals have long known that they get along quite well, yet they never suspected them to be so close that, should one of them be in danger, the other would remain by its side, thus risking its own life.

The whale that got caught in the fishing line over the weekend was Foggy. When the disentanglement crew approached the marine mammal, Grommet gave them some room, yet remained nearby.

Once Foggy was freed, Grommet jumped out of the water, as if celebrating the fact that its buddy wasn't entangled anymore.

“The instant the rope came off Foggy’s head, Grommet dove, and then burst from the water in a spectacular breach. Tell me that wasn't a celebration,” witness Christine Callaghan recollects, as cited by Tree Hugger.

“I will challenge anyone who claims that humans are the only intelligent, empathetic animals,” she adds.

Shortly after being reunited, the two whales swam away together.