2 more than 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the river's mouth.
![stranded deep whale stranded deep whale](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0FlR1PcvZZ4/maxresdefault.jpg)
"He or she looked really relaxed, was cleaning all the mud off itself actually, and we were just so relieved that this whale had actually made itself out of the East Alligator River," Palmer said.Ī group of recreational sailors first spotted the lost trio on Sept. (Northern Territory Government via AP, File) A humpback whale has found its way back to sea weeks after it got lost in a murky, crocodile-infested river in northern Australia. 10, 2020, file photo provided by the Northern Territory Government, a humpback whale swims in the East Alligator River in the Kakadu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory. Humpbacks follow the western Australian coast in their annual migration from the tropics to Antarctica.Ī helicopter crew spotted the whale on Sunday 9 kilometers (6 miles) outside the river mouth, Northern Territory government whale and dolphin scientist Carol Palmer said. "It made its way out on the high tides and we're pleased it appeared to be in good condition and not suffering any ill effects," Moyle said. In northern Australia, the last of the humpback whale trio managed to navigate its way through shallow channels at the broad river mouth and back into Van Diemen Gulf over the weekend, Kakadu National Park manager Feach Moyle said.
![stranded deep whale stranded deep whale](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/PRI_154053551.jpg)
In a more common phenomenon, about 270 pilot whales were reported stranded Monday on sandbars off Australia's southern island of Tasmania state. There have been no previous recorded sightings of whales in remote East Alligator River in the Northern Territory's World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, and no one can explain why at least three of the blue water mammals ventured so deep inland in a river with little visibility.