BERLIN (AP) - A barge carrying a humpback whale, nicknamed Timmy by German media, which had been stranded in shallow waters near Germany since March, has begun its journey toward the North Sea. The barge successfully reached Danish waters on Wednesday, according to German authorities.
The whale was first spotted swimming near Germany's Baltic Sea coast on March 3, far from its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean. Over the following weeks, its health deteriorated significantly as it became repeatedly stranded in shallow waters. Efforts to guide it toward deeper seas, which were livestreamed, proved unsuccessful.
Rescuers managed to pull Timmy onto a flooded barge on Tuesday using straps and a channel specifically dredged to create a passage to the vessel. This barge is now anticipated to navigate around the northern tip of Denmark via the Skagerrak strait en route to the North Sea.
Till Backhaus, the Minister for Climate Protection, Agriculture, Rural Areas, and the Environment of the federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, stated at a press conference that such a life-saving operation had never been conducted before in Germany. He described the operation as an experiment and expressed joy over its success. Backhaus also mentioned that Timmy was resting peacefully and vocalized on Tuesday night, indicating it was in good condition.
The minister had initially approved the latest attempt to save the whale, which was proposed by a private initiative, despite warnings from the scientific community suggesting that the rescue efforts might be too stressful for the animal. The debate surrounding whether to allow the whale to die peacefully or attempt to assist its return to the Atlantic Ocean continued for weeks, with activists staging protests along the beach in Wismar to call for its liberation while others supported innovative ideas for its transport.
Thilo Maack, a marine biologist at Greenpeace, expressed skepticism regarding the rescue efforts, indicating that they had caused the whale considerable stress. He controversially suggested that the whale was likely to die soon and questioned the morality of intervening in nature's course. Maack noted that the animal appeared extremely sick and had likely sought shallow waters to find rest.
Some scientists believe Timmy may have sought shallow waters intentionally as it was weak and needed to recuperate. However, the veterinarians involved in the private initiative regarded the animal as fit for transport. The situation continues to generate discussion and concern surrounding marine safety and the ethical considerations of animal rescue operations.
