Sperm whale freed from Bergen bay
Richard Orange - [email protected]
Published: 14 Aug, 2013 CET.
Updated: Wed 14 Aug 2013 07:49 CET
A sperm whale trapped for a week in a bay near Bergen has been freed after residents mounted a dramatic rescue mission.
The whale was herded between two boats out of the bay in the town of Øygarden and into the open sea.
"Local patriots have mounted a spectacular action and guided the whale to the open sea," said Elin Skaar, a reporter for TV 2 who was on board the boat. "Hopefully the whale now free and not stuck back in the bay."
Tore Haug, a scientist at Norway's Institute for Marine Research in Tromsø, said that sperm whales normally preferred to live far south of the North Sea.
"The North Sea is not a natural area for them, but they get lost sometimes close to the Norwegian coast because of the Norwegian Trench which is quite deep. If they are heading south they can stray into the fjords."
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The whale was herded between two boats out of the bay in the town of Øygarden and into the open sea.
"Local patriots have mounted a spectacular action and guided the whale to the open sea," said Elin Skaar, a reporter for TV 2 who was on board the boat. "Hopefully the whale now free and not stuck back in the bay."
Tore Haug, a scientist at Norway's Institute for Marine Research in Tromsø, said that sperm whales normally preferred to live far south of the North Sea.
"The North Sea is not a natural area for them, but they get lost sometimes close to the Norwegian coast because of the Norwegian Trench which is quite deep. If they are heading south they can stray into the fjords."
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