A humpback whale that had been stranded on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast since Monday freed itself overnight and swam into deeper waters, according to rescuers. The roughly 10-meter-long (33ft) sea mammal was first spotted stuck in shallow water off Niendorf near the northern city of Lübeck.
Key Takeaways
A humpback whale stranded off Germany's Baltic coast freed itself after days of rescue efforts. The roughly 10- to 15-meter-long whale was first spotted on Monday near Niendorf and Timmendorfer Strand. Rescuers used boats, excavators, and dredging equipment to create a channel for the whale to escape.
- Humpback whale freed itself overnight after being stranded since Monday
- Rescue efforts involved boats, excavators, and dredging equipment
- Whale is weakened but swimming toward deeper waters with escort vessels
- Experts warn the whale may still face challenges due to illness and entanglement
Rescue teams had been working intensively for days using boats to make waves and excavators to dig up sand, as fears grew for its life. On Thursday, they began using earth-moving equipment on a pontoon to dredge a channel through the sand to give the animal a route to escape.
Marine biologist Robert Marc Lehmann reported that the whale “gathered its forces” and freed itself overnight. However, he cautioned against premature celebration, noting that the animal was very ill and had a long way to go before reaching its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean. The whale had been entangled in a fishing net, most of which rescuers managed to remove.
Experts from the marine conservation group Sea Shepherd warned that the whale had a skin disease and was zigzagging in the water, potentially risking becoming stranded again. The animal is being escorted by several vessels, including two from the Schleswig-Holstein state water police, as experts hope it will swim back to the North Sea through the straits between Germany, Denmark, and Sweden.
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