A New Zealand orca that had become entangled in the rope of a crayfish pot was saved Tuesday by a diver who jumped in with a knife and cut the mammal loose.
The incident occurred a few hundred yards off the Coromandel Peninsula.
The orca, whose tail had become ensnared by the rope, had been crying out to nearby family members. But Rhys Cochrane, a veteran diver, managed to cut the rope and allow the orca to rejoin its companions.
"He didn't seem to mind or maybe even knew that I was trying to help him," Cochrane told 3 News.
The accompanying video is from Good Morning America. The 3 News report, which does not offer an embed code, contains more footage and detail (click on the 3 News link to watch).
Said Cochrane: "The whole time he was calling; I could hear vivid calls from the orca and just at the end there were five or six orcas including the bull."
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