This is the heartbreaking moment a whale calf is found floating helplessly in the water after its tail was chopped off by a boat.
The short fin pilot whale was discovered with its severed tail hanging off its body by marine experts off the coast of Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
It was struggling to swim along with its pod which stays by its side.
Underwater photographer Francis Pérez was called to rescue the whale along with a marine biologist and wildlife veterinarian.
They pulled the calf out of the water and onto their boat but it had no chance of recovery.
All they could do was keep the calf sedated until it died, sparing it any more unnecessary suffering.
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Pérez said it was one of the saddest days hes had documenting ocean life in the Canary Islands.
He said: I was hoping that the cuts were caused by sharks bites, but no, they were caused by an irrational animal, human.
And according to the necropsy, by a sharp object, as a propeller of a small boat.
The stricken calf was migrating across the Teno-Rasca marine strip, a designated zone of special conservation.
It is home to one of the moRead More – Source
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