Diver cuts sperm whale free from ropes tangled around its JAW

A  brave diver saved a 'frightened' giant sperm whale that he has 'known' for a decade - by slashing through ropes that had become wrapped around its lower jaw and anchored to the bottom of the ocean. 

After Hugues Vitry heard about a tired whale dragging a line of buoys eight miles off Mauritius on May 15, he knew he had to help the stranded animal, which he had been following since it was born in 2011. 

Mr Vitry jumped into the water alongside the 33ft mammal and quickly spotted its jaw was entangled with rope that disappeared more than 1.3 miles to the Indian Ocean floor - dragging the whale's mouth wide open. 

After taking a few minutes to calm the whale, Hugues painstakingly cut the ties with special scissors, making sure not to damage the flesh. 

Having removed the majority of the rope from around its teeth, the whale plunged down into the deep to escape - before the freed buoys resurfaced minutes later. 

After removing the ropes the buoys floated to the surface. Mr Vitry said he and his colleagues removed them from the water and took them to port so no other whales could be jeopardised by them.