From Daily Mail, July 18: Flipping amazing... the moment a humpback whale 'thanks' rescuers who saved it from dying tangled in fishing nets
A humpback whale which was freed from almost certain death by three men off the coast of California repaid the favour to its rescuers with a breathtaking display of breaches and dives.
The amazing hour-long performance was caught on camera moments after the creature was cut free from fishing nets.
When the boat came across the whale it was trapped with its tail and flippers hopelessly entangled in the nets.
'I must admit I was a bit scared because I knew the whale was frightened and fatigued but could still kill me with one panicked movement.'
He said the whale's tail was so entangled that it was weighed down by about 15ft.
Michael got back on the boat and tried to cut the net off the whale with a small knife.
The trio managed to free one of the fins but the whale sensed freedom and swam away, pulling the boat with it. But eventually it surfaced again and more net was cut away.
After about an hour of working the whale was totally free. They pulled the remaining fish net onto the boat and watched the whale give a dramatic show of freedom.
For the next hour they watched the whale breach around 40 times and then dive down waving its tail above the water.
Michael said: 'We all believed it was a least a show of pure joy, if not thanks.
'We were all proud and thrilled that we saved this fantastic young life.
'It was an incredible experience that none of us will ever forget.'
On the video a small girl can be heard saying: 'I know what she is doing. She is showing us that she is free.
Her mother replies to her: 'I think she is showing us a thank you dance.'
Michael spends two months every winter photographing whales in the Sea of Cortez.
He is the co-founder of the Great Whale Conservancy (GWC) Blue Whale Protection Program, set up to protect whales along the California coast from ship-strike caused injuries and death.
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