MURMANSK, June 16. /TASS/. A red-listed humpback whale calf, which became entangled in fishing nets in the Barents Sea near Teriberka, Murmansk Region, in early June, has been rescued, Svetlana Radionova, head of Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resource Usage, reported.

"Stanislav (as Murmansk activists named the whale - TASS) has been rescued. They managed to remove the rope from the whale. After a two-hour chase and several unsuccessful attempts, the rescuers managed to throw a hook with a knife onto the rope, which was squeezing the animal’s neck and mouth. The operation was successful. The photo shows that there is no net on the whale anymore. Thanks to rescuers, social activists, scientists and the Norilsk Nickel company, which invested money and effort to free the animal," the head of the environmental watchdog wrote in her Telegram channel.

She clarified that the whale still had scars.

"We hope that they will heal soon," Radionova added.

Earlier, specialists from the public organizations Marine Mammal Council and Friends of the Ocean arrived in Teriberka. The whale was reported by tourists who noticed that, because of the nets it was entangled in, the calf "could not open its mouth completely." Experts tracked down a whale that was feeding with its relatives 60 kilometers from Teriberka, and planned to use special equipment to cut off the net from it. However, in a number of cases, the specialists were disturbed by the whale-calf’s mother, who, when rescuers approached, swam up and covered it with herself. According to Radionova, the Norilsk Nickel company provided a fleet for the operation.