The sea surrounding Sulawesi in eastern Indonesia is a habitat and migration route for whales, dolphins, dugongs, and whale sharks.
Sediment from clearing land has clogged waterways and halved Kendari Bay’s depth. This month, a three-meter juvenile whale shark drifted into Kendari Bay. The shark became trapped in the silt when the tide turned. After a 10-hour struggle in murky, shallow water, residents and government officials managed to free the whale shark and push it five kilometers (three miles) up the inlet that feeds into the bay and back out to sea.
Earlier this week, another whale shark got stuck in shallow water at Noosa National Park in Queensland, Australia.
A nearby Australian Zoo team arrived after local surfers reported the endangered shark. The team managed to tow the whale shark back into deep water safely along with other locals’ help. Here is a video of the rescue.
