Whale at center of rescue effort controversy found dead off Denmark coast
The whale lies in a flooded cargo ship shortly before the Danish border (photo taken from an airplane). The humpback whale rescued from a shallow bay off Wismar is being transported towards the North Sea. The marine mammal had previously been stuck i
The humpback whale that rescuers tried to save two weeks ago after it became stranded in the Baltic Sea was found dead off a Danish island, authorities confirmed over the weekend.
Officials were able to determine it was the same one when they retrieved the tracking device fastened to its back. The confirmation brought a sad end for the people who pushed for weeks to save the whale, which had been nicknamed "Timmy" and "Hope."
The backstory:
The whale caught the public’s attention in early March when it appeared off the German coast, far away from its natural habitat. Experts were not able to say how it ended up that far off course, but speculated it may have got lost while swimming after herring or while migrating.
Later that month, crews used an excavator to rescue the whale from shallow water near a German resort town, only to see it become stranded again. By this time, people were following the giant mammal’s plight with local media producing dayslong livestreams and sending alerts with any new information.
Experts suspected the whale would soon die, but its fate stirred up controversy among privately funded rescuers, activists, scientists, and regional authorities. Eventually, a private group was allowed to try to move the whale on a flooded barge. It was found dead off an island between Denmark and Sweden, approximately 45 miles south of where it was released.
What they're saying:
The environment minister for the small German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Till Backhaus, said the rescuers gave the whale "a last chance to recover its freedom and health" and defended the decision to let them try to save it.
Backhaus said, "acquiescing to the rescue attempt doesn't constitute criticism of science" and added: "I think it is absolutely human to use even the smallest chance when a life is at stake."
What's next:
Authorities have not decided what to do with the whale’s body yet. They pointed out that it is not considered to be a problem where it is currently located, but warned people to stay away because of the potential for disease.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press. This story was reported from Orlando.