Rescuers have released a young humpback whale that became a national sensation after being stranded in shallow waters off Germany's Baltic coast, though marine experts warn its chances of survival are low. The 10-metre calf, nicknamed Timmy or Hope, was transported by a water-filled barge and released into the North Sea off Denmark.
The whale swam out of the barge and was later seen blowing through its blowhole and swimming freely “in the right direction”, according to Karin Walter-Mommert from the rescue initiative. However, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) had criticised the rescue attempt as “inadvisable”, noting the whale appeared “severely compromised” and unlikely to survive after release.
Experts from the Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund recommended leaving the whale to die in peace, describing it as lethargic and covered in blister-like blemishes, with parts of its mouth possibly caught in a fishing net. Museum director Burkard Baschek called the rescue effort “pure animal cruelty”.
The privately funded rescue was backed by two multimillionaires willing to pay “whatever it costs”. The whale had been stranded on a sandbank in Wismar Bay near Lübeck for nearly six weeks, and German officials initially gave up hope. But after national media coverage and social media interest, authorities approved the rescue plan.
Initial attempts with inflatable cushions failed, but divers managed to guide the whale onto a flooded barge. The calf has been fitted with a tracker, and 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 strands again, calling beaching a “completely natural phenomenon”.
