So long, and thanks for the assist: Humpback whale shows gratitude to rescuers (video)

The sea was angry that day, my friends …

Here’s the story of a group of whale watchers who got the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do more than watch. While on a boat excursion in the Sea of Cortez in February, they came across a young humpback whale that looked dead. But the whale eventually moved, and the people discovered that it had become entangled in a fishing net. One of the men jumped in with nothing but a snorkel and a small knife, and began cutting at the net. After getting the whale close to the boat where others could help, about an hour later it was free.

As she swam away to freedom, the whale seemingly couldn’t resist celebrating her freedom with about 40 breaches and countless tail slaps. The people on the boat acknowledge that it was likely a show of pure joy, but could also be an expression of gratitude.

The cynic in me thinks that the whale maybe had a practical reason for all the jumps, like she was trying to shake off irritants left on her by the net, or because her back really hurt from being in the same position for a long time and she needed to stretch.

But the romantic in me thinks that the whale was 100 percent saluting her rescuers with her breaches and tail slaps; that her jumps were her way of saying, “Thanks guys! I couldn’t have done this without you! Let me repay you with these great photo ops!”

My favorite part:

One of the sweetest parts of the whole thing was what the little girl on the boat had to say about the whale’s breaches: “I know what she is doing. She is showing us that she is free.” And in that case, I couldn’t agree more.

“From where I was standing I could see directly into the eye of the great fish!”

“Mammal.”

“Whatever.”

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Trapped Whale Thanks Rescuers in Most Heartwarming Way [Cafe Mom]