Stories of Kindness from Around the World

True Story of A Grateful Whale


--by Gayu, posted Jan 2, 2008
If you read the front page story of the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday, Dec 15, 2005, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines.

The fifty-foot whale was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her her tail, her torso and a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallone Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her - a very dangerous proposition. One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer.

They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around - she thanked them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.

The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate in the New Year -to be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you.  And, may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.
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Readers Comments

akbj wrote: Wow, what a great story. I would never have thought that whales would be able to know compassion. What an experience for those involved.
vieveadell wrote: We must tread thoughtfully. I never take for granted the evidence that other beings have greater capacity for thought and feeling. So often sources try to convince us otherwise - but in our hearts we know.
perseverance wrote: a great one to hear.such good acts make our lives worthwhile and act as an inspiration to all.thanks
bletscher wrote: A great reminder that even the "big" and "mighty" get tangled up and need the kindness of others. It's basic animal nature!
mermangel wrote: I adore whales (even the "ugly" ones, strange but true) so this story really interested me. I am not at all surprised bt this tale, there is something mystical and inexplicably spiritual about these creatures of the deep. I have only had the experience of observing them from the deck of a ship a few blessed times but I am always moved to tears. I always feel as if the experience touches something distant and deep in my heart and mind, a connection between all of nature and the Universe. Very profound. Thanks for sharing.

p.s. a good whale tale is "grayson" by Lynne Cox, book about an endurance swimmer's real life experience of being followed on a swim by a young male gray whale calf and her inspired yet desperate attempts to lead him back to his mother. Beautiful little book:)
Amanda4384 wrote: What an unbelieveable story!!! Thank you so much for sharing :-) All the best to you and yours in 2008!
lOVEBUG wrote: I have to thank Vieveadell, so very true, our minds can be deceived, but our hearts do know
geet wrote: That was a great story. Compassion is always exchanged with compassion if done selflessly. Sometimes, being humans we just fail to understand this.
xbeldaran wrote: thats a lovely story thank you for sharing
Tashimoto wrote: Thank you for this story. It must have been incredible for those divers to receive (well-deserved) thanks from a whale!

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