A humpback whale which accidentally ended up in the East Alligator River in the Northern Territory in Australia has made its way safely back into the ocean.
The whale is the first of its kind to swim over 20km up the river, which winds through the Kakadu National Park.
According to BBC, this weird incident caused fears that the whale may get stuck in the shallow water or hit a boat. The crocodiles that live in the river were also a concern, however, only if the whale ended up stuck and defenceless.
The whale originally entered with two others which made their way out and returned to the sea.
The whale made its way in the river for 17 days before returning to the ocean to carry on its migration.
‘We are really happy, because it was getting to the point where tides were causing us to be more than a bit concerned,’ Northern Territory Government scientist Carol Palmer told ABC Radio Darwin.
While the whale was still making its way around the river, Palmer and her team were putting together plans in case it became stuck or injured.
This whale is thought to be part of the migration of humpback whales from the west coast of Australia. These animals move north from Antarctica to calve before heading back for the summer feeding period.
‘We do hope this whale catches up with its friends and heads back down to Antarctica,’ said Palmer.
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