Sick, Starving Whale Riddled With Lice Saved From Shark Net

A sick and starving whale riddled with lice has been rescued after it got entangled in a shark net off the Gold Coast of Australia.

Rescue teams arrived at about 6:30 a.m. Monday at a net off Currumbin to find the 23-foot humpback whale with an "unusual" abscess on its back, ABC Australia reported.

Shark nets are put in place at beaches in Australia to prevent large, potentially dangerous animals from entering the shallows where beachgoers swim.

Wayne Phillips, head of marine sciences at Sea World, was involved in the rescue mission and told The Associated Press that the whale was only "slightly entangled" in the net; however, it was definitely suffering.

"It wasn't a great entanglement, but the animal did have a large hump on its back that was unusual. It looked like some kind of abscess," he said. "The whale was not stressed at all. It was quite calm in the net. The animal was very, appeared to be quite sick. It was full of lice which it shouldn't have, the skin condition was bad, it was underweight. Clearly, it was an animal that was suffering from some kind of illness. And the shark nets weren't a huge problem, there wasn't a large entanglement at all."

In footage taken during the rescue, Sea World teams can be seen attempting to ease the whale out of the net.

Whales and other marine mammals often become stranded in the shallows when they become sick or injured. It is not clear what condition this whale was suffering from. However, animals that strand once usually strand again if their condition hasn't improved.

Surfer John Gordon was the one who called rescue teams after spotting the trapped whale on the horizon while getting his morning coffee, ABC Australia reported.

"From what I could see, it's a juvenile whale ... and it's getting to the end of its tether with energy," he told the news outlet. "So that was our biggest concern, we thought, 'Crikey, we've gotta get this guy moving.'"

He contemplated attempting to free the animal himself; however, those who come within 65 feet of the nets could have to pay a fine.

"It was sort of damned if you do, damned if you don't," Gordon told ABC. "It's always going to be an ongoing thing with these shark nets and whether they're worth the while."

The incident has renewed calls to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to assess whether the nets are needed. The nets are in place to avoid shark attacks and ensure human safety at the beaches. However, many share Gordon's view that it is "their territory."

It is not the first time an animal has become entangled in the nets. Another whale became trapped in the same net in July, ABC reported. The whale escaped before rescue crews got to the scene.

Whale specialist Vanessa Pirotta told ABC that this year has been particularly bad for entanglements.

Newsweek has contacted the the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for a comment.