A team of researchers from the Center for Coastal Studies successfully rescued a humpback whale that could have been entangled in rope for several days. The researchers came across the creature on Saturday morning in the Gulf of Maine.

The whale was hog-tied and trapped in a ‘C’ shape, said the Center for Coastal Studies researchers who rescued the whale.

It is said such incidents are sadly quite common for the center's Marine Animal Entanglement Response program.

The whale was not alone as researchers have found wound on the whale’s left flank and researchers suspect they are possibly by a great white shark that lurked nearby.

Researchers after completion of the rescue mission are reviewing whether they need to adjust for a new reality of rescuing entangled whales in the midst of deadly predators.

The program's director, Scott Landry, said in a statement that sharks killing entangled whales has become a common issue in Australia, and could be an emerging problem in Atlantic waters.

“We've been doing this since 1984, and this is the first time, in our knowledge, that we've had a white shark around us. When we saw it, we were extremely alarmed. It was a very big shark, 15 feet long”, he said.

He said rescuing a massive wild whale can be quite dangerous for the rescuers; therefore, they never get in waters with the animals.

Landry said in this incident the whale was tied from its mouth to tail. The whale was immobile due to which it was unable to defend itself from the sharks’ attack, he added.