Sep 28, 2009 5:13 pm US/Eastern
Whale Wrapped In Rope Freed Near Provincetown
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies image taken under NOAA permit 932-1905, with authority of the ESA.
Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies
A right whale that had rope wrapping around its head and mouth was successfully freed on Saturday just outside of Provincetown Harbor.
The whale, identified as the 2008 calf of right whale 1321, was reported to officials by a whale watch vessel, according to officials with the Marine Animal Entanglement Response Team with the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies.
The rope was wrapped around the whale near its blowholes, which potentially made it difficult for the whale to feed. "This animal would not have been disentangled without the assistance of the Provincetown maritime community," said Scott Landry, Director of the Marine Animal Entanglement Response Program.
At most, 10 percent of entangled right whales are reported to authorities each year. Since January, the PCCS team has disentangled two right whales, three humpback whales and eight leatherbacks sea turtles; all listed as federally endangered species.
The majority of right whale deaths are the result of human activities including collisions with ships and entanglements in commercial fishing gear. If you spot an entangled whale, please call the Marine Animal Entanglement Response Hotline at 1-800-900-3662.
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