Tenakee Springs residents free entangled whale on Thanksgiving

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Nineteen people in Tenakee Springs on Thanksgiving cut free a whale tangled in buoys and crab pots off the city’s coast. Gordon Chew says the humpback whale had become entangled three days earlier. Residents were alerted after hearing sounds of distress. Rescuers assembled in five different boats to cut the whale loose on Thanksgiving morning. They placed a grappling hook under the line the whale was tangled in and cut it. The whale then swam away, with some small buoys still stuck to it. A National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration spokesperson says the agency hopes the buoys will break free from the whale.