A trapped orca who was tangled up in a buoy and struggling to breathe has given its rescuers one whale of a thank you.
Keith Simpson and Suzanne Amber were fishing in the waters off the eastern coast of Vancouver Island when they noticed a killer whale tangled in the wires of a buoy.
They called 911 and were rerouted to Paul Cottrell with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
"Killer whales don't have the stamina of the larger whales so definitely time’s always a factor with any entanglement," Cottrell told CTV Vancouver Island.
Cottrell and his specialized team of whale rescuers quickly arrived on the scene and were eventually able to free the orca.
"We went in close and were able to work with the buoy --put some tension on the buoy -- and the animal actually rolled out of the entanglement,” he said.
Once freed, the orca offered its thanks with what many whale watchers dream of witnessing: a giant leap and splash as it swam away.
"It was definitely a Free Willy moment," Amber said.
With a report from CTV Vancouver Island’s Scott Cunningham
