NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia - Animal rescuers said they braved rough seas and powerful winds to free a humpback whale entangled in fishing gear off the coast of Australia during what they described as one of the season's more challenging operations.

The Sea World Foundation said a rescue team responded off the coast of New South Wales after receiving reports of a whale in distress.

Drone video showed a thick rope wound tightly around the mammal’s tail, restricting its ability to move and leaving it in what rescuers described as a compromised state.

Despite battling gale-force winds and crashing waves, the crew says they were able to cut the whale free in just over an hour.

Video released by the Sea World Foundation showed no other animals in distress in the immediate area, and the freed

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