The animal got caught in a rope that was cutting into its flesh

Nov 16, 2012 07:05 GMT  ·  By

Last week, several divers who were exploring the waters near the coast of Mexico came across a whale shark which had a large rope fitted around its girth.

Given the fact that the rope was cutting into its flesh, the divers suspect that the animal got caught in it quite a while before they found it and released it.

Using a knife, they cut the rope loose and freed the shark. Because of the rope's 2 inches diameter, the divers suspect that either it came from an anchor, or it was a mooring line.

However, nobody can say for sure how it was exactly that the shark got caught in it.

Luckily for the divers (and for the animal), whale sharks are not aggressive by nature.

Otherwise, the rescue mission might have been a tad more difficult than it was.