A whale that got entangled in ropes and suffered injuries from shark bites has been rescued by scientists. The humpback whale was discovered by Center for Coast13wal Studies researchers on Stellwagen Bank while conducting research on gases exhaled by humpback whales.

The place where the whale was found is a popular feeding ground for whales and is about 5 miles north of Provincetown.

The whale's mobility was restricted due to being hogtied from mouth to tail. It was also bitten by a shark that prowled the waters beneath scientists on Saturday.

The whale was unable to fully use its tail to swim because rope ran through the whale's baleen and wrapped around its flukes, said CCS Executive Assistant Cathrine Macort.

Dr. Jooke Robbins thought the whale was resting when he first spotted the marine animal. However, she saw the rope, the shark and the whale's bloodied dorsal fin after getting closer.

The disentanglement operation was soon started by the CCS's Marine Animal Entanglement Response team. The team used its 35-foot response vessel, IBIS, which was named after the first whale the organization rescued in 1984.

The team cut the rope from the mouth of the whale using a hook-shaped knife, helping the animal to correct its posture. The shark chose to run away seeing the whale had attained its normal horizontal position, said Scott Landry, director of the Marine Animal Entanglement Response team.

"This whale is very lucky. It probably would have been killed by the shark if we had not freed it", said Landry.