“Timmy” the whale set free after weeks stranded in German waters

A young humpback whale that drew widespread public attention in Germany after becoming stranded in shallow waters has been released back into the sea, according to British media.

Despite the positive development, experts warn that its chances of survival remain low.

The roughly 10-meter-long calf, nicknamed “Timmy” or “Hope,” had been stuck on a sandbank in Wismar Bay near the city of Lübeck for nearly six weeks. As its condition worsened, German authorities initially abandoned rescue efforts, concluding the animal could not be freed.

The situation changed after the whale’s plight became a national story, gaining traction across television and social media. Authorities subsequently approved a privately funded rescue plan backed by two multimillionaires who said they were willing to pay “whatever it costs” to save the animal.

Rescuers transported the whale in a water-filled barge and released it into the North Sea off Denmark. According to Karin Walter-Mommert from the rescue initiative, the whale swam out of the barge and was later seen blowing through its blowhole and moving freely “in the right direction.”

The operation, however, faced strong criticism from marine experts. The International Whaling Commission described the rescue attempt as “inadvisable,” stating the whale appeared “severely compromised” and was unlikely to survive after release.

Specialists from the Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund, on Germany’s Baltic coast, had also advised against intervention, recommending the animal be left to die naturally. The museum’s director, Burkard Baschek, said the rescue effort amounted to “pure animal cruelty.”

The whale had been described as lethargic, with blister-like lesions on its body, and parts of its mouth were believed to be entangled in a fishing net.

Initial rescue attempts using inflatable cushions and pontoons failed. Eventually, divers managed to guide the animal onto a flooded barge in an operation witnessed by hundreds of onlookers.

By Tamilla Hasanova