There is growing awareness and understanding of the intelligence, understanding and behaviour of whales. Science shows that whales are sentient beings. This means they can suffer fear, pain and other negative states – but that in good circumstances, they also have the ability to enjoy life.

Saving Valentina

Members of the Great Whale Conservancy sighted a young whale who was so entangled in fishing net that she could not move. If they could not free her, she faced certain death.

It must have been nerve-wracking for all parties as the brave rescuers painstakingly hacked away the imprisoning net with the one small knife they had with them. But eventually, they managed to set the whale free and for an hour afterwards, she gave a dramatic display of leaping and diving in what her rescuers felt it was a show of joy. She must have felt wonderful to have been released from the fatal net and she may well have been trying to attract the attention of the rest of the pod of whales, and perhaps her mother.

They named the youngster Valentina and you can see the wonderful film here.

Divers rescue whale … and whale rescues diver

We’ve previously written about the rescue of a humpback whale who had become fatally entangled in crab lines. But happily, she was spotted and freed by divers. When she had been freed, she swam around in circles and then went up to each diver one by one and nudged them. One of the rescuers is reported as saying: “It seemed kind of affectionate, like a dog that’s happy to see you … I never felt threatened. It was an amazing, unbelievable experience.”

Mila is a beluga whale in China. Brave Mila rescued a diver who had got into difficulties while practising in the pool. Using her sensitive, dolphin-like nose, Mila guided the diver to the surface. One of the staff is quoted as saying: “Mila noticed the problem before we did. She’s a sensitive animal who works closely with humans and I think this girl owes her her life.”

Sources
The Great Whale Conservancy www.greatwhaleconservancy.org

Broom, D.M. (2011) ‘The science of animal welfare and its relevance to whales’, in the Report of the Whale Welfare and Ethics Workshop (Joint workshop of WSPA and UK govt, 22/23 March 2011)

Simmonds, M. (2006) ‘Into the brains of whales’. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 100: 1-2, p103-106

Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society  www.wdcs.org

The humpback whale was on the migratory route around the California coast when she became terribly entangled in crab trap lines. Her life was at great risk.
She was tangled up in weighted ropes up to 240 feet long around her tail, her flipper and even in her mouth. The ropes were so tight they cut into her blubber and caused visible wounds. She was completely helpless  and the weight of the traps was causing her to struggle to keep her blow hole out of the sea.

A rescue team of divers went out to her but she was in such a state  they were  unsure that they stood any chance of saving her. They were at risk themselves, as the flick of a humpback’s tail can kill a human.

But they reported that as they worked to free the unfortunate creature, she did not struggle at all and they were aware of her eyes simply following them around as they worked.

Thankfully, the rescuers were successful but must have been astonished by the whale’s heartwarming response. When she felt herself come free, she began to swim around in circles and then went up to each diver one by one and nudged them. One of the rescuers is reported as saying: “It seemed kind of affectionate, like a dog that’s happy to see you … I never felt threatened. It was an amazing, unbelievable experience.”

Her response makes us think about the common ground that humans can have with animals who might appear so very different from us. A whale-watching expert who helped co-ordinate the rescue is quoted as saying: “You hate to anthropomorphize too much  but the whale was doing little dives and the guys were rubbing shoulders with it … I don’t know for sure what it was thinking, but it’s something that I will always remember. It was just too cool.”

An interesting point about our understanding of these large sea mammals was made by Gould and Gould in their book ‘The Animal Mind’. They suggest that perhaps we have been quicker to appreciate the intelligence and sentience of primates as they are so much more similar to us in their gestures and experiences, and therefore easier for us to read. We may have been slower to understand the complexity and richness of underwater creatures simply because they appear to be so very different to us.

Humpback Whale

Sources:
San Francisco Chronice (14/12/05). Daring rescue of whale off Farallones. Accessed 17/12/09.

Gould, J. L. and Gould, C. G. (1994) The Animal Mind. Scientific American Library, New York.

According to reports, “Mila had spotted her difficulties and using her sensitive dolphin-like nose guided Yun safely to the surface.”

One of the staff is quoted as saying: “Mila noticed the problem before we did. She’s a sensitive animal who works closely with humans and I think this girl owes her her life.”

Belugas are very social and because they are so chatty, they are also known as sea canaries. When you have to swim great distances under ice in the Arctic Sea, it helps to be a good communicator so you can keep up with your pod and let each other know what’s going on. Sadly, beluga whales are yet another threatened species.

See National Geographic for an interesting film clip about beluga life.