Distressed marine animals, Cape Town, South Africa
Whale in distress
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It's the time of the year here in South Africa when the Southern right whales visit our shores.
Big whales close inshore are a magnificent sight especially when they breach or dive and their large tail flukes protrude out of the water.
Unfortunately in the past any whale attracting attention to itself would have ended up dead as the whale hunters went after it for its meat and blubber.
Today the focus has changed and the whales are welcomed to our shores where they can approach the shallows and be admired by visitors who come from afar to see them.
With so many whales around our coastline there is bound to be times when these large mammals clash with humans.
This often happens when boats inadvertently ram a submerged whale either killing it or injuring it badly.
In a recent incident the yacht Shosoloza rammed a whale in Table bay and badly damaged itself and also injured a number of the crew.
After the incident the whale swam off apparently uninjured.
Although there are often incidents involving boats and whales there are often more serious events which are never heard of.
Whales and other marine animals often become entangled in the debris left at sea by fishermen and passing ships.
Nets caught on submerged rocks or wrecks are cut loose and left to sink to the sea floor.
Unfortunately these nets and ropes cause underwater obstructions where sea animals become entangled causing death or injury to the trapped animal.
Some animals manage to pull themselves loose but aften end up dragging part of the net with them.
Seal caught in plastic tape
When spotted the entangled animals are reported tothe Marine and Coastal Management of South Africa who together with other institutions such as the National Sea Rescue Institute send out rescuers to free them.
It's a risky business freeing large animals such as whales as a touch from a tail fluke could be enough to knock a man senseless or break a bone or even kill him.
Rescueing a whale is not something just anyone can do so there has to be some specialised training which enables rescuers to free entangled animals.
In 2005 there was a conference sponsored by the Australian government which hosted teams from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia to discuss and exchange ideas on the best ways to rescue and free sea animals.
Issues such as types and causes of entanglements, disentanglement techniques and safety were on the agenda.
For the event a custom-made, life-sized whale tail with rubbery skin was made to allow the teams to practise the techniques learnt.
Since returning to South Africa the skills learnt have been put to good use by the delegates to the conference.
A number of whales have been rescued from certain death when they were freed from nets and ropes that entangled them.
Occasionally rescue attempts fail and then decisions to put the trapped animals out of their misery have to be taken.
These are not always popular with the general public.
One such incident was a whale which came ashore on the False Bay coastline near Mnandi beach in April 2005.
The two year old Southern right whale came too close inshore and beached itself in the shallows where children found it and played on its back.
Reports of a stranded whale soon got to the ears of the marine authorities and rescue teams were despatched to the area.
Attempts to refloat the whale were unsuccesful as the whale was just too heavy to move.
The whale also had breathing problems caused by its weight that was just too much for its ribs to handle.
After 18 hours of lying beached on the False bay shoreline in the baking hot sun it was decided that the humane thing to do would be to put the whale out of its misery.
The authorities decided that the quickest and easiest way was to set an explosive charge above its brain and blow it up.
When the charge was detonated the whale was killed instantly.
Disposal of the carcass was a bigger headache and it was eventually loaded onto a flat bed truck and removed to the Vissershok dump where it was disposed of.
Whale lying on the rocks at Kommetjie