whale of a story...........

[yorkster]

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> > If you read the front page story of the SF Chronicle,
> > you would have read about a female humpback whale
> > who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps
> > and lines.
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> > She 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 body, her tail, her torso, a line
> > tugging in her mouth.
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> > A fisherman spotted her just east of the FarraloneIslands
> > (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help.
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> > 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.
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> > One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer.
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> > They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her
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> > 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 gently around-she thanked them. Some said it was the most incredibly
> > beautiful experience of their lives.
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> > 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.


the pics: (I hope they come through):




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