An animal rescue story that has captivated readers around the world may be about to have a happy ending.
A barge carrying a humpback whale stranded in shallow waters near Germany since March has begun its journey to the North Sea, hundreds of miles away. If all goes well, the whale will eventually find its way to the Atlantic Ocean.
The humpback whale recovered from a shallow bay off Wismar is transported to the North Sea in a flooded cargo ship just before the Danish border in Fehmarn, Germany. – Philip Dulian/dpa via AP
The humpback whale, affectionately called Timmy by the German media, has been stranded in the shallow waters of the Baltic Sea since March 3. In the course of the rescue operations, it appeared that Timmy was in poor health, and some activists asked that he be left to die in peace.
Efforts to bring it back into deeper waters were funded by public funds. Until two German entrepreneurs intervene by providing funds to support the rescue efforts.
« I can’t even say how happy I am, » Karin Walter-Mommert, one of the entrepreneurs who funded the rescue operation, told Bild newspaper. « We could see that the whale was fighting and wanted to live. Knowing that she is now in the barge is simply wonderful and shows that the fight for Timmy was worth it.”
Timmy is now on a flooded barge, for a three-day trip to the North Sea. Scientists are not sure that the whale can survive the voyage. Some believe that the whale sought shallow waters because it was weak and needed to rest. However, private veterinarians consider that the animal is fit for transport.
How to follow the journey of Timmy the whale
A tugboat, named Robin Hood, started shooting the barge with the whale in the Baltic Sea on Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning, the Fortuna B took over and is currently bypassing the island of Fehmarn, in northern Germany, near Danish waters.
The position of the tugboat can be followed live on Vesselfinder.com. The convoy must travel about 400 kilometers to reach the North Sea. The trip will take several days. The barge should bypass the northern tip of Denmark, via the Skagerrak Strait, towards the North Sea.
Rescue operations were broadcast live worldwide.
Timmy ran aground on a sandbank near the German city of Lübeck, far from his natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean. The mammal’s health deteriorated as it stran aground in shallow waters, and unsuccessful efforts to bring it back to deeper waters were broadcast live worldwide.
Several attempts were first made to free the marine mammal, including digging canals so that it could swim, but all failed. At the beginning of April, the authorities abandoned the animal, believing that it could not be saved. But this decision sparked an outcry and the authorities were persuaded to let the entrepreneurs develop a rescue plan.
A fierce debate on what to do for the whale
Till Backhaus, Minister of the Environment of the State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the whale ran aground, said Tuesday that he was « on the verge of jumping into the water to help the whale cross the last few meters ».
The minister gave the green light to the last rescue attempt proposed by a private initiative, despite the warnings of the scientific community who fear that it will not be too much for the whale.
The debate about whether the best way to help the animal is to let it die in peace or to continue trying to help it return to the Atlantic Ocean has been going on for weeks. Activists organized protests on Wismar beach to demand the release of the animal, while others supported new ideas on how the whale could be transported to the ocean.
However, Thilo Maack, a marine biologist at Greenpeace, told the Associated Press earlier this month that efforts to save Timmy had caused significant stress in the animal. « I think the whale will die very soon. And I would also like to ask the following question: what is so serious about this situation? What’s wrong with that? « , he said. « Yes, animals live, animals die. This animal is really, really very, very, very sick. And he decided to rest. «
