Love, love, love this story, but how do we know the whale wasn't scratching itself- that fishing line could have been painful and itchy... Or it could have been warning other whales to stay away, or being territorial? I'm not discounting the other theories of it saying thank you, or showing joy at being free, but I just wish I had more knowledge of whales to know what the most likely scenario is (without human sentiment or anthropomorphism). But do love this story; very touching- and jealous of the people who were there to help that whale- what an amazing and lucky encounter!