PROVINCETOWN – A humpback whale that was hogtied from mouth to tail and being stalked by a great white shark was freed Saturday off the coast of Provincetown.
The Marine Animal Entanglement Response Team from the Center for Coastal Studies rescued the whale which had suffered a large bite wound on its left flank.
The team started untangling the whale from a 35 foot response boat IBIS while the approximately 15 foot great white remained in the area.
Crews were able to cut the rope from the marine mammal’s mouth.
The shark left the area which allowed rescue crews to get out in a small inflatable boat to finish the disentanglement.
Boaters are asked to report any entanglement sightings of whales, sea-turtles or other marine animals to the Marine Animal Entanglement Response Hotline, at 800-900-3622.