{"id":478470,"date":"2026-02-14T01:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T01:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/478470\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T01:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T01:10:10","slug":"photographer-sees-whale-dragging-200-foot-rope-and-realizes-something-is-very-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/478470\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographer Sees Whale Dragging 200-Foot Rope And Realizes Something Is Very Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last month, a wildlife photographer named John Kowitz<\/a> went on a boat ride off the coast of Kona, Hawaii, to capture some drone shots of humpback whales. While he was filming, he noticed one of the whales appeared to be entangled in some fishing equipment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe minute I had the drone above the whale, I noticed an extremely long line, probably 150 feet, tangled around the whale,\u201d Kowitz told The Dodo.<\/p>\n

\"whaleJohn Kowitz<\/p>\n

Kowitz\u2019s heart sank. He was worried for the whale\u2019s safety and didn\u2019t know how long the animal would be able to make it while dragging around so much rope.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew that could be a death sentence for a whale,\u201d Kowitz said.<\/p>\n

Even though the whale was slowed down by all the fishing gear, Kowitz spotted another humpback who wasn\u2019t leaving the injured animal\u2019s side. Perhaps the other whale was trying to comfort or look out for their struggling friend.<\/p>\n

John Kowitz<\/p>\n

Kowitz called a local rescue group for help. The rescuers instructed him to take pictures and videos of the whale so they could be prepared when they arrived. Kowitz spent hours documenting the extent of the entanglement and discovered that the line was deeply embedded in the humpback\u2019s head.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as we wanted to help immediately, we lacked the proper tools and training to remove the gear,\u201d Kowitz said.<\/p>\n

The rescue team arrived and got straight to work removing the fishing equipment. They used special cutting tools to carefully remove everything that was wrapped around the whale\u2019s body.<\/p>\n

John Kowitz<\/p>\n

\u201cThe entire process took over five hours,\u201d Kowitz said. \u201cThey removed over 200 feet of line, fishing gear and chains.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this humpback is not the first animal Kowitz has encountered who\u2019s been entangled in fishing gear. Over the years, he\u2019s seen many sharks, turtles and other marine life hurt by discarded equipment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all need to be better stewards of our ocean,\u201d Kowitz said. \u201cThose of us in it every day see the damage commercial fishing, plastic pollution and toxic runoff from land are causing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luckily, though, this particular whale got a second chance at life. Kowitz was relieved to learn that the animal he\u2019d been so concerned about was doing much better thanks to the rescue team\u2019s many hours of hard work.<\/p>\n

Getty Images \/ Marnie Griffiths<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe rescuers said the whale immediately started swimming faster and moving around a lot, like it had a newfound sense of freedom,\u201d Kowitz said.<\/p>\n

To keep up with Kowitz’s work, you can check out his website here<\/a>.\"Photographers<\/a>Photographers See A Seal Being Chased By Orcas \u2014 Then He Jumps Onto Their Boat\u201cIt was the encounter of a lifetime.\u201d<\/a>