Rescuers free young humpback from rope near Boston

PROVINCETOWN, Mass., Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Marine rescuers in Massachusetts rescued a young humpback after it spent nearly a week trapped by a rope near the Boston coast.

The Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown said a Marine Animal Entanglement Response team was dispatched Sunday to free the trapped humpback, which was reported by a group of commercial fishermen.

The center said sea conditions were too poor for the rescuers to reach the whale when it was first reported Thursday, but the MAER team was able to reach the whale during a break in the weather Sunday with assistance from the Massachusetts Environmental Police and the U.S. Coast Guard.

A video posted to YouTube by the center shows the whale before and after the rescue.

The young whale, about 30 feet long, had been anchored for nearly a week by the rope, which was wrapped around the base of the ocean mammal's tail.

"While the prognosis for the whale is now much better, it will take time for it to heal," the YouTube post said. "The Center's Humpback Whale Studies team will attempt to identify the whale, and it's hoped the whale will be seen at a later date to monitor its progress."