The humpback whale known as Timmy has been confirmed dead by Danish authorities, two weeks after a controversial rescue attempt that critics labelled 'pure animal cruelty'. The whale's body was discovered on Friday near the island of Anholt in the Kattegat strait between Denmark and Sweden.
Officials from Denmark's Environmental Protection Agency identified the whale on Saturday using a tracking device attached during the rescue. The 10-metre-long calf had first been spotted stranded on Timmendorfer beach in Germany nearly two months ago, sparking a global outcry.
After German authorities abandoned rescue efforts, two wealthy German businessmen financed a €1.5m operation to move the whale by barge to the North Sea. The International Whaling Commission had advised against the rescue, noting the animal appeared severely compromised. Experts from the Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund recommended leaving it to die peacefully.
The whale was released on 2 May but was found dead approximately 70km south of the release site. Jane Hansen of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency confirmed the identity and said there are no plans for a necropsy. A professor from Oxford University questioned whether the funds could have been better spent on broader conservation issues.
