Right whale freed from ropes off Georgia coast

Federal and state workers on Thursday freed a North Atlantic right whale that had become entangled in ropes off the Georgia coast. It was the fifth endangered mammal rescued since December in waters off Georgia and Florida.

Workers with the state Department of Natural Resources, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other agencies cut away the ropes to free the whale.

The entanglements, said NOAA biologist Laura Engleby, are “alarming, and with each event we look for clues to help us understand more about why and where these entanglements actually occur.”

Officials are monitoring two other entangled whales. They removed some ropes from each creature earlier this year, but weren’t able to remove all the lines, believed to be fishing gear.

Right whales, which migrate to warmer waters to calve, are among the most endangered whale species in the world. An estimated 400 Eubalaena glacialis live in waters between Canada and the southeastern United States.