WATCH: Officials disentangle humpback whale in water off Cape Cod

CHATHAM, Mass. — A rescue team with the Center for Coastal Studies freed a badly entangled humpback whale in the water off Chatham on Monday, officials said.

The whale, named Thumper, was with her young calf and had thick rope wrapped five times around her body, according to the CCS.

A Marine Animal Entanglement Response team used a cutting grapple and were able to free the pair after about an hour.

Thumper and her calf were in poor condition, indicating that they had likely been entangled for months, officials noted.

A private vessel from the Chatham Bars Inn spotted Thumper and her calf and alerted the CCS.

In a news release, the CCS said, ”Thumper was much thinner and paler than other current humpback mothers and also had wounds across her body and a heavy infestation of whale lice. The configuration of her entanglement likely made feeding very difficult. In turn, this would have made milk production for her calf equally difficult. Her calf was smaller and thinner than other calves seen in the area.”

The whales eventually swam off to the east after they were freed.

Watch video of the rescue operation below:

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