The 12-meter-long humpback whale Timmy, who had been stuck in shallow waters on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast several times since early March, is back in the water and began swimming on his own on the morning of April 20. Reports woman.
Rescue boats tried to get the animal out of Kirchesi Bay, where the depth is only about 1.2 to 2 meters in many places. The whale, which was swimming around the bay, changed direction several times and soon froze near the entrance to neighboring Wismar Bay. It is not yet clear why the animal stopped swimming further.
The Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Environment Ministry suspects that the whale has washed ashore again. Department representatives believe that a weak, disoriented and perhaps sick animal needs rest.
Der Spiegel indicates that the whale swam during the morning for a distance of between three and five kilometers. He was able to float due to the high water levels and strong winds in the bay.
The whale, named Timmy, has been stranded several times off the coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea since early March. The animal was rescued independently or with the help of rescuers.
At the end of March, the whale again got stuck in shallow water, and since March 31 it has been lying almost motionless, not trying to get out. In early April, local authorities and oceanography experts concluded that Timmy was in extremely poor condition and that attempts to help him would only worsen the animal’s suffering.
As a result, the authorities stopped the rescue operation. Later, they allowed volunteers in a private initiative, funded by local businessmen, to try to help the animal again, taking responsibility for the whale’s fate themselves. Preparations for a new rescue operation began on 16 April.
Doctors, rescuers and animal rights activists are monitoring the whale, hoping it can return to the open sea. If this happens and the animal survives, a GPS tracker may be fitted to it to track its movements.