A barge carrying “Timmy,” the humpback whale that became stranded off Germany in early March, entered Danish waters Wednesday and is expected to reach the open ocean by Friday.
The tugboat pulling the water-filled, specially converted freight barge was reported between the Danish islands of Samsø and Sjælland at 2 a.m. German time (0000 GMT) on Thursday, according to the Vessel Finder tracking website. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania environment minister Till Backhaus said that if all goes well the whale will be in the North Sea by Friday and that “the very worst is already behind him now.” He added the animal was “doing well” and had made sounds overnight.
Rescuers coaxed the juvenile humpback—nicknamed Timmy by German media and thought to be four to six years old—from shallow waters off the island of Poel into a specially dredged channel and onto the barge using straps. The barge’s hold was filled with water to keep the whale submerged during the tow after initial efforts with inflatable cushions and pontoons failed.
Timmy was first sighted near Germany’s Baltic coast on March 3, far from the Atlantic, and his condition worsened after repeated strandings in shallow water. The ambitious tow has sparked debate: some scientists warn the journey may be too stressful for an already compromised animal. Greenpeace marine biologist Thilo Maack told the Associated Press he believed the whale was “really, really very, very, very sick” and predicted it might die soon, questioning whether prolonged intervention was appropriate.
The International Whaling Commission called the rescue “inadvisable,” saying Timmy appeared severely compromised and unlikely to survive. The privately financed rescue operation is backed by two German multimillionaires.
Edited by: Zac Crellin