Entangled whale freed but may not survive

Entangled whale freed but may not survive

20th June 2002

An entangled humpback whale was freed earlier this week

but may be too severely injured to survive, rescuers said.

“This whale is very thin, very emaciated” said Joanne Jarzobski

of the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown.

The deep cuts and scarring to its tail has twisted its flukes,

normally horizontal, into a vertical “propeller-shaped” orientation.Jarzobski said that has forced the whale, an unidentified juvenile, to use it’s pectoral fins more, which may be tiring it out.

Meanwhile, plans are being developed for a possible expedition to free an

entangled northern right whale that was spotted Tuesday about 130 miles off Cape Cod.

Jarzonski said the adult male, known by the number 1424, is one of two whales that were seen last winter with entanglements. An aerial whale survey team spotted the whale off Cape Cod.

Unlike Churchill, the whale that apparently died last year after suffering from a severely embedded line, the lines wrapped around 1424's jaw has not yet cut into its flesh.

At 130 miles, the whale is still too far at sea for a rescue effort and rescuers will be monitoring its movements for a chance to work on the lines.

There are roughly 300 northern right whales left, and several die each year after being struck by ships or becoming entangled in stray lines. There are an estimated 10,000 humpbacks in the north Atlantic.

( Pic : Library picture of CCS staff approaching Humpback whale )

[ Center for Coastal Studies : http://www.coastalstudies.org/rescue/index.htm ]

(Source : http://www.bostonherald.com )