Southern California whale watchers have been searching for a humpback entangled in netting and what appears to be a buoy. On Saturday, an owner of a whale- and dolphin-watching company, Dave Anderson said that one of his boats carrying tourists has seen the troubled whale off Dana Point in Orange County on late Friday.

Whale watching boats from Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Safari and Dana Wharf Sportfishing observed the whale but were already too late to try disentanglement. Anderson said that rescue team members think that it was the same humpback whale that was seen off Redondo Beach on October 27.

They said that it would’ve been right to use a tracking device for monitoring the route of the whale, which generally tends to be very unpredictable.

According to rescuers, fishing gear was not wrapped around the head of the whale, but that it could be a metal drum or a steel or the fender from a boat. They have warned that in case anybody see the whale, he/she should not approach the animal and don’t try to remove any of the line.

Anderson added that he along with his whale will look for the whale on Saturday, but also mentioned that there are chances that the animal has moved down the coast. It could be as far south as Mexico.