Timmy Whale released into North Sea off Denmark

A 10-metre humpback whale nicknamed timmy whale has been released into the North Sea off Denmark after rescuers moved it in a water-filled barge. The whale, stranded for nearly six weeks in Germany, left the barge at about 8.45am local time and was later seen swimming freely.

Karin Walter-Mommert, from the rescue initiative, said the whale swam out of the barge and was observed blowing through its blowhole and moving “in the right direction.” The whale had become stranded on a sandbank in Wismar Bay near Lübeck, and German authorities eventually approved a privately financed rescue plan after initial efforts were stopped.

Wismar Bay rescue attempt

The whale’s case drew attention because its condition had already been described as lethargic and covered in blister-like blemishes, with parts of its mouth believed to be caught in a fishing net. Initial efforts with inflatable cushions and pontoons failed before divers helped the whale onto a flooded barge.

The rescue was funded by two multimillionaires. German officials first gave up on rescuing the whale, then later allowed the private plan to go ahead as interest around the animal grew in Germany.

Criticism from Stralsund and IWC

The International Whaling Commission called the rescue attempt “inadvisable” and said the whale appeared to be “severely compromised.” Burkard Baschek, director of the Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund, described the effort as “pure animal cruelty.”

That criticism sat against a public campaign that had turned the whale into a sensation in Germany, with people baking whale-shaped cakes, composing songs and getting tattoos of its image. Till Backhaus said he was hopeful of a “happy end,” while the whale’s future now depends on whether the tracker attached to it shows it continuing away from shore.

Denmark and the tracker

The Danish environment ministry told Deutsche Welle it was not planning to rescue the whale if it became stranded again, and described whale beaching as a “completely natural phenomenon.” With the tracker now attached, the next movement that matters is whether the whale keeps swimming on its own after this release off Denmark.