WATCH ABOVE: Footage of rescuers trying to free blue whale caught in buoy line.
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. – Rescuers say they’ll hold off until Saturday on efforts to free a blue whale tangled in a fishing line off the Southern California coast.
The whale, believed to be about 75 feet long was spotted spouting and diving Friday afternoon in a channel between the mainland and Santa Catalina Island. It was dragging a long trailing line with an attached buoy, possibly from a lobster or crab trap.
A disentanglement team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration arrived at the scene before sunset and attached a larger buoy to keep track of the whale but decided to hold off on efforts to cut or detach the line until Saturday.
It’s unusual to see blue whales – the world’s largest mammal species – entangled and authorities want to proceed cautiously.
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