A four-day odyssey to free a juvenile humpback entangled in fishing gear had a happy ending Monday when the whale finally swam free in the Gulf of the Farallones.

First spotted near Moss Landing, the whale was pursued by the Moss Landing-based Whale Entanglement Team with help from federal marine authorities. A crab pot line attached to gear later traced to Oregon had deformed the whale’s upper jaw and immobilized a flipper.

Over four grueling days that often lasted late into the night, the team tracked the whale and eventually was able to cut the whale free of the line. Officials said the prognosis appears to be good.

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