Fears for young whale tangled in ropes

TANGLED: There are fears for a juvenile humpback whale entangled in polypropylene rope off the coast of Maui, Hawaii. Picture by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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A juvenile humpback whale entangled in hundreds of metres of heavy rope off the Hawaii coast is being tracked by marine experts.

"The entanglement is life-threatening," said Ed Lyman, marine mammal response manager for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. "It's in the mouth, and it's over the body. It's yellow, polypropylene line, pretty heavy gauge, and it's several hundred feet of line on the animal."

A location transmitter was attached to the rope on Tuesday after earlier rescue efforts failed because of rough water in the channel between Maui and Molokai, Lyman said.

"If the whale stays nearby and the weather co-operates, we can mount another effort," he said.

Lyman estimated the whale was tangled in 120m to 150m of rope that trailed in two long knotted strands. He estimated the whale is between two and five years old, and about 9m-10.5m long.

The effort to save the whale began on Tuesday after a Pacific Whale Foundation tour boat spotted the mammal about 5km off Maui. A US Coast Guard helicopter also helped monitor the whale, he said.

The marine sanctuary, which was created by Congress in 1992 to protect humpback whales and their habitat in Hawaii, lies within the shallow warm waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands.

- AP