Watch: Humpback whale escapes crocodile-infested river after 17 days

Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Officials with an Australian national park said a humpback whale has found its way back to open waters after two weeks stranded in a crocodile-infested river.

Kakadu National Park said a group of marine ecologists fishing in the East Alligator River on Sept. 2 spotted three humpback whales that had apparently gotten disoriented while migrating and ended up in the river.

Two of the whales found their way back out of the river before long, but the third spent 17 days avoiding confrontations with the river's crocodile population before finding the way back out to the Van Diemen Gulf.

"The whale made its way out on the high tides of this weekend and we're pleased it appeared to be in good condition and not suffering any ill effects," Feach Moyle, manager of the Kakadu National Park's Country and Culture Section, said in a post on the park's Facebook page.

Researchers said the three humpbacks are the first of their species to ever be spotted in the East Alligator River.