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| Sydney fishermen film the moment they remove fishing line and plastic from a whale's head after it 'came up to them for help' | Sydney fishermen film the moment they remove fishing line and plastic from a whale's head after it 'came up to them for help' |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A group of fishermen have captured extraordinary footage of the moment they helped free a whale from entangled rubbish after it seemed to seek out their help. | A group of fishermen have captured extraordinary footage of the moment they helped free a whale from entangled rubbish after it seemed to seek out their help. |
| Michael Riggio, 17, and Ivan Iskenderian told the local Manly Daily newspaper they were sailing home from a fishing trip when they noticed the animal, thought to be a southern right whale, near Sydney, Australia. | |
| The fishermen said the whale, which appeared some way up Middle Harbour just north of the New South Wales city, appeared to be looking for them to do something. | The fishermen said the whale, which appeared some way up Middle Harbour just north of the New South Wales city, appeared to be looking for them to do something. |
| Ron Kovacs posted an image of his close encounter with the whale on Facebook The whale spent some time swimming around a group of fishing boats in the Sydney harbour (Ron Kovacs/Facebook) While Mr Riggio took photographs, Mr Iskanderian was able to reach out to the whale and remove a large mass of fishing lines and plastic that had got caught on the animal’s face. | Ron Kovacs posted an image of his close encounter with the whale on Facebook The whale spent some time swimming around a group of fishing boats in the Sydney harbour (Ron Kovacs/Facebook) While Mr Riggio took photographs, Mr Iskanderian was able to reach out to the whale and remove a large mass of fishing lines and plastic that had got caught on the animal’s face. |
| “It was right on his lip… he seemed like he wanted it off,” Mr Iskenderian said. | “It was right on his lip… he seemed like he wanted it off,” Mr Iskenderian said. |
| Another man out on his boat in the same stretch of water, Ron Kovacs, was able to take a video of the moment the rubbish came free. | Another man out on his boat in the same stretch of water, Ron Kovacs, was able to take a video of the moment the rubbish came free. |
| He posted it to Facebook, and explained that the whale had spent some time taking an unusual amount of interest in a group of boats. | He posted it to Facebook, and explained that the whale had spent some time taking an unusual amount of interest in a group of boats. |
| “He had a big scar on his back, and some fishing line and two plastic bags on his head,” Mr Kovacs said. | |
| “He [kept] popping his head up so you could reach out and remove the garbage. He tried on my boat bit [it was] a bit harder as we are a bit higher – I made one grab for the bag but missed. | |
| “He later came up to a trailer boat and presented his head as they removed the bag and [then] the fishing line. It was as if he wanted them to take it off.” | “He later came up to a trailer boat and presented his head as they removed the bag and [then] the fishing line. It was as if he wanted them to take it off.” |
| The fishermen said the whale appeared to show its gratitude after the rubbish was removed from its head (Ron Kovacs/Facebook) Mr Riggio, who posted a selfie of the experience on Instagram, said it was “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, just seeing it so close”. | The fishermen said the whale appeared to show its gratitude after the rubbish was removed from its head (Ron Kovacs/Facebook) Mr Riggio, who posted a selfie of the experience on Instagram, said it was “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, just seeing it so close”. |
| The fishermen said that after the rubbish was removed, the whale seemed to show its appreciation by slapping its fin on the water. Mr Iskenderian said: “It was surreal, we couldn’t believe our eyes.” | The fishermen said that after the rubbish was removed, the whale seemed to show its appreciation by slapping its fin on the water. Mr Iskenderian said: “It was surreal, we couldn’t believe our eyes.” |