Whale slaps man in face during dare-devil rescue of the huge trapped animal in this extraordinary footage

The amazing animal is tangled in a fishing rope and is barely able to surface for air as a team of rescuers arrive to save it

This amazing footage captured the moment a whale leaps out of the sea and slaps a man round the face who is trying to rescue him.
The animal is tangled in a fishing rope and is barely able to surface for air as a team of rescuers arrive to save it.
The battle to free the scared 2.5 ton animal.
In the footage he can bee seen rising out of the water with his flipper whacking one of the volunteers around the face.

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Trapped: The whale needs saving

The incredible moment happened when the man, a volunteer for the South African Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN), was as part of an operation off Dassen Island in Cape Town.

Fellow SAWDN rescuer Graeme Harding was on board the boat when the incident took place on Wednesday and captured the drama on camera.

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Rescue: They work to free the animal

Mr Harding said: “On arrival to the scene a search commenced and an 11-metre sub adult Humpback Whale was found trapped in a rope line.
“The line was running to fishing gear, anchored to the sea floor at a steep angle, the whale was barely able to surface for air.

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Free: He rises up out of the sea

“We began a disentanglement operation and attached two flotation buoys to the left flipper.

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Slap: The volunteer gets hit

“We managed to get the whale free of the ropes although it was difficult and along with flying fins and a flying GoPro.
“Our volunteer who was closest to the action is unharmed and we are all glad that the two whale disentanglement operations were a success.”
Andrew Ingham, a spokesman for the SAWDN said this was one of their most difficult disentanglements to date and they had never captured images like this before.


He added: “Working at such close quarters to free entangled whales involves years of training, specialised equipment and a high level of skill for the volunteers who form the SAWDN.

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Shocked: The encounter was caught on camera

“This is the first time that we have captured images like this.
“They are excellent images that will be used for training of crews in future and show very clearly why so much time is spent training to be able to work as a team to free these beautiful animals.”