Timmy the humpback whale believed to have died — experts
Pourquoi c'est important
Timmy, a humpback whale, was stranded on Germany's Baltic coast for nearly a month. Despite rescue efforts, the whale repeatedly became stranded on sandbars. A strategy change led to its transport to the North Sea and release.
Experts believe that Timmy the humpback whale, stranded for nearly a month on Germany's Baltic coast, is most likely dead now, says a statement from the Ocean Museum Germany.
The severely weakened animal did not have enough strength to swim in deep waters for long and is therefore likely to have perished, museum experts assume. Experts noted no verifiable information exists on its location or condition since its May 2 release into the North Sea, and called on volunteers to disclose data from the GPS trackers attached to the mammal's body.
The 15-ton whale, called Timmy, was found on a sandbar near the community of Timmendorfer Strand on March 23. On March 26, rescue excavators dug a channel next to the whale. On March 27, it returned to open water on its own but later came back and got stranded on a sandbar in Wismar Bay.
The whale later moved away from shore again but returned to Wismar Bay on March 31, then got stuck in shallow waters off Poel island during another attempt to reach deeper sea. For most of that period, it lay nearly motionless until volunteers started organizing a new rescue.
On April 20, the whale floated free from the sandbar as water levels rose, swam for about two hours, then settled back on the sandy seabed near the exit to Wismar Bay. Rescuers then revised their strategy, opting to transport it by barge. It was taken to the North Sea and released into the wild.
Questions ouvertes
- What is the current condition of Timmy the whale?
- What caused Timmy to become stranded repeatedly?
- Will volunteers provide data from the GPS trackers?
- What are the long-term implications for marine life stranding events in the Baltic Sea?
