Experts cut whale free from 280ft fishing line

US wildlife experts cut away more than 280ft of commercial fishing line being dragged by an endangered right whale off the Georgia coast, though some of the heavy rope had to be left tangled in the whale’s mouth.

Entanglement in commercial fishing gear and collisions with ships off the East Coast are considered the greatest threats to the right whale’s survival.

Experts estimate only about 450 of the large whales remain. Each winter they migrate to the warmer waters off Georgia and Florida to give birth to their calves.