Incredible footage shows a free-diving family saving a 20-foot long endangered whale shark tangled in a fishing net

National Geographic

• A family was free-diving near Hawaii's Lana'i Island when they spotted a whale shark tangled in fishing net. 
• After noticing scars around the body where the rope had been cutting into its skin, the divers decided to attempt to help the animal. 
• It took multiple dives to finally cut through the net. 

This new National Geographic report is enough to break anyone's heart: A whale shark was spotted offshore from Hawaii's Lana'i Island by free-divers with a thick fishing net rope wrapped around its neck.

With scars around its body where the rope had clearly been cutting into its skin, the two divers – who work on protecting endangered species for the O'ahu Army Natural Resources Program – felt they had no choice but to step in. With the help of their son and a wildlife control manager for Pulama Lana'i, they managed to cut the rope away using a small serrated blade, through several dives, without any breathing equipment.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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