Timmy the humpback whale has begun a crucial journey towards the North Sea aboard a barge, after months stranded in shallow German waters. The operation aims to return the mammal to its natural Atlantic Ocean habitat.
First spotted near Germany's Baltic Sea coast on 3 March, Timmy's health deteriorated from repeated strandings, far from its usual home. Unsuccessful efforts to coax it into deeper waters were widely livestreamed.
In the latest rescue attempt, teams spent hours on Tuesday carefully pulling the whale onto a flooded barge using straps and a dredged channel, the German press agency dpa reported. The barge reached Fehmarn island in northern Germany, near Danish waters, early Wednesday, Bild reported. Its route will take it around Denmark's northern tip, via the Skagerrak strait, towards the North Sea.
Till Backhaus, environment minister of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern where the whale had been stranded, said on Tuesday he was “on the verge of jumping into the water to help the whale get through the last few meters.” The minister gave the green light for the latest attempt to save the whale, proposed by a private initiative, despite warnings from some scientists that it may be too much for the whale.
The debate about whether to let the whale die in peace or keep trying to return it to the Atlantic has been ongoing for weeks. Activists have staged protests in Wismar calling for the animal’s liberation, while others have supported new transport ideas. However, Thilo Maack, a marine biologist at Greenpeace, told The Associated Press earlier this month that efforts to save Timmy have caused severe stress. “I believe the whale will die very soon now. And I would also like to raise the question: What is actually so bad about that?” he said.
