Video: Fisherman rescues entangled whale

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. --Two fishermen, Pat Foster and Adrian Colaprete, spotted a whale struggling in the Atlantic Ocean off of Virginia Beach last weekend and knew they had to act.

The Wild Lyfe, a group of conservationist friends who posted the video, described the scene:

"They were off the coast of Virginia Beach yesterday about 50 miles helping a team of scientists conduct research studies offshore. Pat spotted a whale swimming irregularly in the distance and decided to have a closer look. The team identified the whale as an endangered species of the Northern Right Whale and noted the whale was in serious danger. The whale was tangled in some sort of fishing ropes or trap line and was slowly dragging the fishing gear behind it.

Pat and Adrian decided they would have to try and assess the situation a little further and find out if they could do something to help the whale. After patterning the whales movements the team decided Adrian would get in the water with the whale and take a closer look. When Adrian swam up to the whale he sensed the whale was welcoming his help and he made the decision to cut the rope tangling the whale to the line of fishing gear. After the rope was cut the tangled fishing gear sank to the bottom of the ocean and the whale swam away free."

Right whales are the most endangered of the large whales.

To watch the full video, click here.