LOS ANGELES — The Coast Guard is searching for a 40-foot gray whale entangled in fishing line that may be heading down the Southern California coast.
Rescuers were able to remove about 100 feet of line from the animal on Tuesday off Laguna Beach but more line remains tangled around the whale’s head and left fin.
Rescuers attached colored buoys to the whale and hope to finish their work Wednesday if the whale can be located.
Whale-watching boat skipper Dave Anderson, who helped the whale Tuesday, says the adult animal looked healthy and could have covered 50 miles or more as it moved down the coast.
Anderson says the whale may be heading for Baja California lagoons but it won’t find much to eat there and must turn north to survive.
This image provided by the Pacific Marine Mammal Center shows a rescue boat following an entangled whale April 17, 2012, off the Southern California coast. (AP Photo/ Pacific Marine Mammal Center)
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