Humpback Whale Timmy Rescued from North Sea After Weeks Stranded Near Germany

A rescue team on Saturday released from a barge in the North Sea a humpback whale that had been stranded in shallow waters near Germany since March, witnesses said. Nicknamed "Timmy" by German media, the whale was spotted swimming near Germany's Baltic Sea coast on March 3, far from its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean. The mammal's health deteriorated as it became repeatedly stranded in shallow waters near the coastal city of Wismar, and unsuccessful efforts to coax it towards deeper seas were live-streamed across the globe. The environment minister for Germany's Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state gave the green light for the attempt to save the whale, proposed by a private initiative, despite some warnings from the scientific community that it may be too much for the animal. Jens Schwarck, a member of the private initiative who was on site, said the whale was released around 9am, according to the German news agency dpa. The agency reported that the whale was released 70km (about 45 miles) from the coast of Skagen, Denmark. Drone footage showed a whale swimming and spouting water near the barge, though it was not immediately confirmed that the animal was indeed Timmy.