9781422284865

Action!

hales can’t call 911. The massive marine animals, some of the largest creatures ever to live on Earth, have had to deal with humans entering their world for centuries. For a long time, people hunted whales. In fact, some countries still allow limited hunting. For the most part, though, the world knows how special whales are and tries to protect them. When a whale is in trouble and people can help, the call goes out for…marine biologists. In early spring 2014, a humpback whale (like the one at left) became tangled in the ropes connected to a heavy crab trap. A whale-watching boat packed with tourists saw the struggling animal near Monterey Bay in northern California. The people reported what they saw to local experts. The Whale Entanglement Team (WET) was called in. The group of daring scientists, divers, and boat pilots are like a strike team for whales in trou- ble. The team carefully approached the whale and attached a tracking device to its back.

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND flukes  the wide, flat parts of a whale’s tail

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