Wildlife officials successfully rescued a humpback whale after it was discovered entangled in a web of crabbing gear and at risk of dying, the National Park Service said. A pair of residents first spotted the whale on Oct. 10 off the coast of Gustavus, Alaska. Surrounded by Glacier Bay National Park, Gustavus is bordered by the so-called "Icy Strait," a popular ocean feeding ground for humpback whales in the spring, summer and fall. But this particular whale wasn't feeding. It was seen "trailing two buoys, making unusual sounds and having trouble moving freely," according to an account of the rescue from the park service. When park staff were able to assess the situation from a boat, they found a heavy fishing line winding from the whale's mouth to its tail, ending in a glob of tangled lines at its tail. "In a sense, the whale was hogtied," said Janet Neilson, a whale biologist with the NPS. Neilson and her colleagues called the owners of the crabbing gear, who confirmed that a 300-pound crab pot had gone missing, along with 450 feet of heavy line. The whale had likely been entangled for about three days. In a stroke of good luck, a few of the rescuers were able to spot the whale and its trailing buoys while flying in from Juneau, Alaska. Neilson joined two other rescuers in a small boat while three others monitored and advised from a bigger research vessel nearby. A person stood onshore to operate a drone camera, providing a bird's eye view of the coiled whale. The team analysed those images with the help of experts and managed to save the whale.