The carcass of Timmy, a juvenile humpback whale whose plight captivated the public, was finally brought ashore on a Danish beach on Saturday, two weeks after his death. The whale had been found dead and stranded off the small Danish island of Anholt in the Kattegat strait on 14 May.
Timmy's health had been closely monitored since his first sighting off the German coast on 3 March. He became repeatedly stranded in shallow waters, showing signs of distress with irregular breathing and prolonged periods of inactivity. He also suffered from a skin condition due to the Baltic Sea's low salt content, for which rescuers applied zinc ointment.
A contentious rescue effort culminated on 2 May with his transport by barge towards the North Sea in a final attempt to return him to his natural Atlantic habitat. A GPS transmitter was attached to track his location, but the whale died shortly after. The rescue was financed by two millionaires, including Karin Walter-Mommert.
Specialists at the German Oceanographic Museum had voiced concerns about the rescue, stating, 'The chances of a successful rescue are very slim due to the animal’s poor state of health and the generally poor prognosis.'
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency will conduct a necropsy this week to determine the cause of death. It remains unclear why Timmy swam into the Baltic Sea, far from his natural habitat, though experts suggest he may have lost his way while following a shoal of herring or during migration.
