Humpback whale rescued in Germany found dead off Danish coast

A humpback whale found dead this week off a Danish island has been identified as the animal released two weeks ago in a spectacular and controversial rescue effort after repeatedly becoming stranded off Germany's Baltic Sea coast, Danish authorities said Saturday.

The dead whale washed up on Thursday just off the small island of Anholt in the Kattegat, the broad strait between Denmark and Sweden that connects the Baltic Sea to the North Sea. The site is south of the location where the whale that gained the nicknames "Timmy" and "Hope" was released on May 2 after being transported toward the North Sea in a special barge.

"It can now be confirmed that the stranded humpback whale near Anholt is the same whale that was previously stranded in Germany and was the subject of rescue attempts," Jane Hansen, head of division at the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, said in an emailed statement.

She added that conditions on Saturday made it possible for a Danish Nature Agency employee to locate and retrieve a tracking device that was still fastened to the whale's back, and "the position and appearance of the device confirm that this is the same whale that had previously been observed and handled in German waters."