the moment a humpback whale 'thanks' rescuers who saved it from dying tangled in fishing nets

A humpback whale which was freed from almost certain death by three men off the coast of California repaid the favour to its rescuers with a breathtaking display of breaches and dives. 

The amazing hour-long performance was caught on camera moments after the creature was cut free from fishing nets.

When the boat came across the whale it was trapped with its tail and flippers hopelessly entangled in the nets.

The whale watchers first thought the humpback was already dead as it was floating on top of the water. 

But then it let out a loud breath through its blow hole.

Michael Fishbach decided the best thing to do was to get into the water and snorkel alongside the stricken whale.

He said: 'As I swam alongside the animal our eyes met.

'There were no words we could share but I wanted to let the whale know that we were there to help.

'It took some effort to stay focused given the great emotion of the moment.

'The sight of this large and beautiful creature trapped and so close to death was almost overwhelming.

'I must admit I was a bit scared because I knew the whale was frightened and fatigued but could still kill me with one panicked movement.'

He said the whale's tail was so entangled that it was weighed down by about 15ft.

Michael got back on the boat and tried to cut the net off the whale with a small knife.

The trio managed to free one of the fins but the whale sensed freedom and swam away, pulling the boat with it.

But eventually it surfaced again and more net was cut away.

After about an hour of working the whale was totally free.

They pulled the remaining fish net onto the boat and watched the whale give a dramatic show of freedom.

For the next hour they watched the whale breach around 40 times and then dive down waving its tail above the water. 

Michael said: 'We all believed it was a least a show of pure joy, if not thanks.

'We were all proud and thrilled that we saved this fantastic young life.

'It was an incredible experience that none of us will ever forget.'

On the video a small girl can be heard saying: 'I know what she is doing. She is showing us that she is free.

Her mother replies to her: 'I think she is showing us a thank you dance.'

Michael spends two months every winter photographing whales in the Sea of Cortez.

He is the co-founder of the Great Whale Conservancy (GWC) Blue Whale Protection Program, set up to protect whales along the California coast from ship-strike caused injuries and death.

Heron fishes from a 'rock' which suddenly comes alive

This heron was in for a shock when the 'rock' it was perched on to fish from turned out to be a hippo.

The bird realised something strange was going on in Kruger National Park, South Africa, after the spot it had landed on suddenly began to move.

However, undeterred from its task, the clever heron continued to use the unsuspecting mammal as the perfect hunting platform.

During the remarkable 10-minute encounter the heron desperately tried to keep balance as the hippo repeatedly came up for air.

Finally, it managed to spot a frog in the water, which it skilfully picked up in its beak before flying off with its catch.

At first, British photographer Andrew Forsyth thought the heron was sitting on top of a small mud island.

It was only when the huge creature emerged from the water that he realised it was a hippo wallowing in a mud bath.

The 42-year-old from Brighton, East Sussex, said: 'The scene was already quite special because there was an orange haze caused by bush fires that raged in the distance as the sun went down.

'I spotted the heron on what I thought was a small mud island and watched it as it looked for fish for several minutes.

'Suddenly the "island" rose up out of the water, two nostrils appeared and took a big breath then went under again.

'I watched it for several minutes, again with the heron looking out for fish passing by, the hippo rising and falling occasionally as he breathed.

'The hippo didn't seem to mind the presence of the passenger - I do wonder if it felt like a good back scratch for him.'

Mr Forsyth continued: 'The hippo rose and sank a few times more and the heron stayed put stubbornly refusing to be offloaded, despite a few balancing problems which were corrected by opening his wings.

'At last the hippo had enough and rose high out of the water, turned and walked towards a shallow section of the lake, the heron appearing to surf on his back as he went.

'As he sank down below the water again he obviously disturbed a frog, the heron seized his chance to grab a quick meal and flew off with the prize.

'The fact that such a large animal is also likely to disturb fish and amphibians hiding in the bed of the lake is probably a bonus for him, one that paid off here.'

The photographer added: 'I've made several trips to Kruger and not seen behaviour like this before or since, so I feel privileged to have seen this interaction between a hunter and another animal that inadvertently helps him catch his prey.'