Rescuers have released a young humpback whale that became a national sensation after it was beached in shallow waters off the coast in Germany, although marine experts have said its chances of survival are low.
The whale, variously nicknamed Timmy or Hope, was released into the North Sea off Denmark after being transported there in a water-filled barge by rescuers.
The 10-metre long calf swam out of the barge and was later observed blowing through its blowhole and swimming freely “in the right direction”, according to Karin Walter-Mommert from the rescue initiative.
The rescue attempt had been criticised by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) as “inadvisable” because the whale appeared to be “severely compromised” and was unlikely to survive after its release.
Experts from the Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund on Germany’s Baltic coast also recommended the creature should be left to die in peace.
The whale has been described as lethargic and covered in blister-like blemishes, and parts of its mouth are believed to be caught in a fishing net.
A humpback whale that was stranded in the Baltic Sea off the German coast since March, blows a fountain at the open North Sea on 2 May after leaving a floating barge that had been towing him. Photograph: NonstopNews/Jens Schwarck/Reuters TV/ReutersThe museum’s director, Burkard Baschek, has said trying to save the whale amounted to “pure animal cruelty”.
The rescue attempt was funded by two multimillionaires who said they were prepared to pay “whatever it costs” to release the whale, which became stranded on a sandbank in Wismar Bay near the city of Lübeck nearly six weeks ago.
As its health deteriorated, German officials gave up trying to rescue the mammal, saying they believed it could not be freed.
But after the whale’s plight garnered national interest, with coverage from TV channels and social media influencers, German authorities were persuaded to approve a privately financed rescue plan.
Initial attempts to save the whale with inflatable cushions and pontoons were unsuccessful, but divers eventually managed to help the creature on to a flooded barge , watched by hundreds of onlookers.
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