Family Rescues Grateful Humpback Whale

Michael Fishbach, co-founder of The Great Whale Conservancy, was with family and friends, photographing whales in the sea of Cortez when they came across a young one tangled in a fish net. Immobilized and appearing to be dead, Valentina had little chance of survival without Fishbach's team. After the group managed to free the whale from the net, she showed her appreciation with over 40 breaches, a show of "joy, if not thanks."

Michael Fishbach narrates the incredible rescue:

Incidentally, Valentina was named for the day her life was saved — Valentine's Day of 2011.