The humpback whale, stranded for several days on a sandbank on the German coast in the Baltic Sea, reappeared during the night from Monday to Tuesday in the Bay of Wismar, said the authorities, who hope that it was able to escape permanently.
The dozen-meter-long marine mammal was observed on Tuesday in this bay in northeastern Germany, a maritime police spokesperson told AFP. He is swimming freely and organizations involved in the rescue operation have been informed, he added.
Mobilizing firefighters, divers, biologists, maritime police and local authorities, the operation to rescue the whale nicknamed “Timmy” has the German press in suspense, covering every twist and turn. The presence of this cetacean in the Baltic Sea is rare.
The animal managed to free itself on Monday evening after rescuers encouraged it, using an inflatable boat, to start moving again. “The calm we gave to the whale has borne fruit,” said regional Minister of the Environment Till Backhaus (SPD) on Monday evening. But he noted that the animal first swam in the wrong direction, towards the port, before heading out to sea.
The whale was first spotted eight days ago on a sandbank in the Bay of Lübeck, a port city in the northeast of the country. After several days and a complex rescue operation involving construction equipment, she managed to free herself, before running aground again in the Bay of Wismar, from Saturday to Monday.
