A humpback whale that was stranded off an Australian beach has managed to free itself after its calf was seen apparently pushing it into deeper waters.
The whale was stuck on a sandbar in the waters off Stradbroke Island in the east of Brisbane.
The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services (QPWS) had received reports about a mother and calf stranded on Thursday night.
The whales had managed to free themselves but before long the mother was again stuck closer to the shore on Friday.
A video footage showed the distressed calf swimming close to the shore, apparently trying to push the mother off.
A little after 8 a.m. here, the mother managed to free itself.
A boat of the wildlife park trailed the whales to help herd them out to sea and away from shallow waters.
QPWS personnel were given the responsibility to carefully dispatch the pair and planned to stabilize them until a team from Sea World, further along the coast, could arrive to help free them.
(With agency inputs)
