Rescuers have released a young humpback whale, nicknamed Timmy or Hope, into the North Sea after it was stranded on a sandbank in Wismar Bay, Germany, for nearly six weeks. The 10-metre calf was transported by a water-filled barge and swam out into the sea, later observed blowing through its blowhole and swimming freely in the right direction, according to rescue initiative spokeswoman Karin Walter-Mommert.
The rescue operation, funded by two multimillionaires, had been criticised as inadvisable by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) because the whale appeared severely compromised and unlikely to survive. Experts from the Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund also recommended leaving the creature to die in peace, with museum director Burkard Baschek calling the attempt “pure animal cruelty”.
The whale had been lethargic, covered in blister-like blemishes, and parts of its mouth were believed caught in a fishing net. German officials had initially given up on rescue efforts, but after national interest fuelled by TV and social media coverage, authorities approved a privately financed plan. Initial attempts with inflatable cushions failed, but divers eventually helped the whale onto a flooded barge.
The whale was released at about 8.45am local time and has been equipped with a tracker. Till Backhaus, environment minister for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, expressed hope for a “happy end”. However, the Danish environment ministry said it would not rescue the whale if it became stranded again, describing beaching as a natural phenomenon.
