A humpback whale calf has been freed after being entangled in a rope and buoy for several hours off Sydney’s coast.
Members of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services’ Large Whale Disentanglement Team and officers from the NSW Water Police freed the calf just after 4pm on Wednesday.
The calf, which was accompanied by two adult whales, was first sighted off Warriewood on the northern beaches about 10am. The trio were spotted again just north of Bondi Beach about lunchtime.
Macquarie University wildlife scientist Vanessa Pirotta said the whales were part of about 40,000 travelling south on the “humpback highway” annual migration route to Antarctica.