A 45-foot-long humpback whale entangled in fishing ropes, first spotted on Feb. 13, was freed Friday after a week-long rescue operation coordinated by NOAA and a Hawaiian marine sanctuary. Rescuers lost track of the whale for several days in stormy weather, but relocated it and attached a satellite tracking device last Sunday, and approached it Friday in an inflatable boat and used a saw blade on a pole to cut off at five wraps of rope around its fluke.
Photo:Â Rescuers work to free the entangled whale.