Whale Rescued From Nets Near Baltic Resort

A whale was successfully freed from fishing nets near a Baltic Sea resort in Poland on Wednesday. Sea rescuers and wildlife experts undertook the hour-long operation near Miedzyzdroje. Konrad Wrzecionkowski from WWF Poland noted the whale made a "great and positive impression" despite the dangerous and stressful situation. Wrzecionkowski said: "You have to approach these animals with a lot of respect and we knew that if it chose to wave its tail, we would all find ourselves in the water."

"The situation was very stressful for him, but with time, when the nets were getting looser, he seemed to understand that we were trying to help him and the untangling became easier," added Wrzecionkowski. "And then he swam off into the sea." Rescuers used boathooks on long poles instead of knives to prevent harming the animal. The rescue boat was 10 feet long, while the whale was more than twice its size. Whales typically inhabit ocean waters but sometimes wander into the Baltic Sea from the Atlantic via the Danish Straits. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)