BRUNSWICK, Ga. -- The injured right whale spotted off the Georgia coast last weekend may be in much worse shape than originally thought.

Weather and sea condition continue to keep researchers away from the animal to fully assess the condition. The sea mammal is entangled with ropes, fishing gear and sea buoys.

The animal is being tracked with a radio transmitter and at last report had turned back north and was spotted off the coast of South Carolina. It may be nearly impossible to remove the ropes from the animal due to the nature of the entanglement, according to officials involved in the effort.