Last week, a humpback whale has become stranded in the crocodile-infested river in Australia which baffled scientists. But it was believed that the whale was confused in navigation during its annual migration.
An update of the whale reports that it has successfully found its way back to the sea after being stranded for two weeks. According to authorities, there were two whales to have left the area, however, it seems that one whale got stuck in the river where large saltwater crocodiles live.
Humpback Whale Stranded in Crocodile-Infested Australian River
In a very unusual event last week, three whales entered the East Alligator River in Kakadu Park. According to reports, the animals were spotted on Tuesday, September 15, and ever since then, authorities have been closely monitoring one whale who appears to be stuck.
The spokeswoman for the park says that two of the stuck whales have already left the area, though rangers are not certain. While the scientists are baffled by the event, it was thought that the whales got stuck because they made a wrong turn during migration.
Upon discovering the stranded animals, the authorities immediately placed an exclusion zone at the mouth of the river to a point just under 20 miles upstream to protect the whale and people who may have considered going to the area by boat. Authorities said that this is the first time that a whale became stuck in the crocodile-infested river.
They have been monitoring the situation at the river and working closely with Australia's Northern Territory government authorities to gather data. As much as possible, the team is avoiding any collision between a boat and the whale in the waters where crocodiles are abundant and the visibility under the water is zero.
Luckily, the whale at that time does not seem to be in distress and is not in an emergency situation, so they just waited for the whale to find its way back to the sea.
Humpback Whale Free at Last
Almost a week later after the whale got stuck in the Australian river, the whale has finally found its way back to the sea this weekend, much to the delight of the personnel in the park.
In a statement they gave on Monday, September 21, they said that the whale was able to get out of the crocodile-infested river due to the high tides last weekend and it appears that the whale is still in good condition. Park officials thanked the authorities for their collaboration on this very unusual event.
The scape of the whale from the river is great news as it was the best outcome that park officials and authorities could have hoped for the stuck whale.
Although this is the first time that a whale got stuck in the river filled with crocodiles, Australia's eastern coastline is always full of migrating humpback whales during the migration season as the animals usually spend their summers feeding in the Antarctic waters before migrating to sub-tropic regions to give birth.
According to the environmental ministry of Australia, the majority of humpbacks near Australia migrate back towards the Southern ocean starting September to November.
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