A humpback whale nicknamed Timmy, who had been stranded for weeks in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Germany, has been released into the open sea. This was reported by Deutsche Welle, according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that the whale left the rescuers' barge approximately 70 kilometers from Skagen, Denmark. Data from the GPS transmitter, which was supposed to show where the whale headed, was never received. The authorities of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania stated that they had repeatedly requested this data, but to no avail.
The need to transmit data so that the whale could be tracked had been discussed in advance. Furthermore, a video system was supposed to be installed on the barge so that veterinarians could monitor Timmy—apparently, Backhaus said, neither had been done.
It is noted that the uncertainty regarding the transmitter provoked a sharp reaction among the scientists who had been observing Timmy all this time.
"If it is confirmed that the transmitter is not working, it will be a 'catastrophe.' Without the data, it is impossible to understand whether the whale survived, how it is behaving, and whether the entire operation made any sense at all," said marine biologist and whale researcher Fabian Ritter.
As a reminder
At the end of April, near the coast of Germany, an operation began to transport a humpback whale, named Timmy, to the North Sea. The animal was discovered as early as March 3 near the Baltic Sea coast—far from its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean.
Due to the shallow water, the whale repeatedly became stranded, and its condition gradually deteriorated. Attempts to guide it into deeper waters on its own yielded no results.
Whales washed ashore in Japan: consequences of a powerful earthquake near Kamchatka30.07.25, 12:33