Rescue teams free stranded humpback whale from sandbar in New South Wales
Forster, NSW: Rescuers in Australia guided a 10-ton humpback whale back to the ocean after it became stranded on a sandbar during an early migration.
The juvenile whale entered the Coolongolook River on April 13 before becoming trapped in shallow water and unable to return to deeper areas. A major rescue operation launched the next day freed the animal and returned it to the sea off Forster, New South Wales.
The operation involved the Sea World Foundation, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA), and the Forster Dive Centre. Specialist teams worked together in an urgent and complex effort, using heavy-duty slings placed beneath the whale’s pectoral fins to carefully tow the exhausted animal off the sandbank into deeper water.
Humpback whales typically migrate along Australia’s east coast between June and November, traveling from Antarctica to the Great Barrier Reef. Officials said this individual appeared to have set off far too early.
The successful rescue highlights the coordination between marine specialists and local agencies to protect wildlife during unexpected migration events.
