An incredible video of a humpback whale in California’s Ventura Harbor has gone viral, and you can watch that stunning footage at the bottom of this post. Rescue crews and biologists used underwater microphones known as hydrophones to guide a large humpback whale out of the Ventura Harbor Marina and backinto the ocean after it got stuck on Saturday afternoon.

The whale, which stretched 35 feet in length, was first seen swimming back and forth in the harbor. The whale could be seen bumping into boats and swimming in just a few feet of water as it desperately tried to find a way out of its watery prison.

Rescuers started using hydrophones to play recorded whale sounds to guide it back into the ocean, but were unsuccessful doing so. In fact, some theorized that the sounds may have bouned all around the harbor and only confused the whale more. Hundreds of people gathered near the shore to watch the whale up close.

“Both male and female humpback whales vocalize, but only males produce the long, loud, complex ‘song’ for which the species is famous,” reads an excerpt from Wikipedia. “Each song consists of several sounds in a low register, varying in amplitude and frequency and typically lasting from 10 to 20 minutes. Individuals may sing continuously for more than 24 hours. Cetaceans have no vocal cords, instead, they produce sound via a larynx like structure found in the throat, the mechanism of which has not as of yet been clearly identified. Whales do not have to exhale to produce sound.

“Scientists are unsure of the purpose of whale songs,” the entry continues. “Only males sing, suggesting one purpose is to attract females. However, many of the whales observed to approach a singer are other males, often resulting in conflict. Singing may, therefore, be a challenge to other males. Some scientists have hypothesized the song may serve an echolocative function. During the feeding season, humpbacks make unrelated vocalizations for herding fish into their bubble nets.”