Rescuers free humpback whale ‘hog-tied’ to 300lb crab pot in Alaska

Local residents discovered trapped whale trailing two buoys, making unusual sounds and having trouble moving freely'

A young humpback whale was freed by rescuers in Alaska after it was discovered hog-tied to a 300lb crab pot.

The rescue, which occurred on 11 October, came after two local residents discovered the trapped whale a day earlier in the coastal waters near Gustavus, a city close to Glacier Bay national park in the southernmost part of Alaska. Researchers estimate the whale to be about three to four years old.