MARTHA’S VINEYARD, Mass. (WWLP) – A survey team spotted a large group of right whales just south of Martha’s Vineyard, including one whale who was previously seen entangled in rope.

The North Atlantic right whale known as Nimbus was seen on Friday by a New England Aquarium aerial survey team. This was the first sighting of Nimbus since he was last seen on January 20 off the coast of Jekyll Island, Georgia wrapped in rope.

North Atlantic right whale #3812 with an entanglement east of Jekyll Island, Georgia on January 20, 2023. Credit: Georgia Department of Natural Resources (Permit # 24359)

Back in January, crews were able to assist Nimbus and removed approximately 375 feet of rope passing through the whale’s mouth and dragged hundreds of feet behind its flukes. Only a short amount of rope remained in Nimbus’ mouth, but the crew was optimistic the remaining rope would dislodge on its own.

Nearly three months and traveling roughly 800 miles after that spotting, Nimbus is now free from his entanglement. It is still unclear how the rope entanglement impacted Nimbus’ health.