The likelihood of survival for a young humpback whale off Maui was “greatly improved” over the weekend after responders cut away hundreds of feet of a heavy-gauge cable from it’s mouth, the Coast Guard said.

The entangled whale was first reported Saturday off the Pali lookout. Crews responded over a two-day period from the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Coast Guard, Maui Ocean Safety, Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission, and West Maui response team.

Responders found the gear exiting both sides of the whale’s mouth and were eventually able to use cable cutters to cut the approximately 5/8-inch electrical cable away, the Coast Guard said. About 500 feet of cable was removed.

Some of the cable was embedded too deeply at the back of the whale’s mouth to pull out, but the animal displayed improvement in its movement and behavior after being freed from the majority of the cable.

The origin of the PVC-insulated cable was unknown, the Coast Guard said.