An elaborate rescue operation has commenced in Germany to save a sick humpback whale, which has repeatedly stranded itself off the Baltic Sea coast and captured national attention for weeks.
Nicknamed "Timmy" by local media, the whale is currently lying in shallow waters near the eastern German town of Wismar, having barely moved for several days.
Concerns are mounting that the animal may not survive.
Timmy was first sighted in the region on 3 March. Its presence in the Baltic Sea, far from its natural habitat, remains a mystery.
Experts speculate the whale may have become disoriented while pursuing a shoal of herring or during its migration.
The animal faces long odds in finding its way back to the North Sea – a journey of several hundred kilometres – and then to the Atlantic Ocean.
Previous rescue efforts have failed
Attempts to refloat the mammal with the help of police boats, excavators and inflatable boats had temporarily freed it.
But the whale, which measures 12 to 15 meters (39 to 49 feet) long, never found its way back to the North Sea and was stranded again while becoming weaker and sicker.
Local media have started days-long livestreams to feed the outsized public atttention on the fate of the whale, which is lying in shallow waters and only breathing slowly and heavily.
Online newspapers have pushed alerts with the smallest developments about Timmy's health including updates on its bad skin condition, which is related to the Baltic Sea's low salt content.
Activists have staged protests on the beach in Wismar calling for the animal's liberation, while influencers have debated whether the best way to help the animal was to let it die in peace or keep trying to assist its return to the Atlantic Ocean.
Timmy getting police protection and expert assistance
Interest in the whale has been so strong that police had put up a 500-meter (1,640 foot) protection zone to keep curious bystanders from getting too close and stressing the stranded whale even more.
Despite these efforts, a 67-year-old woman jumped off a boat on the weekend trying to get close to the whale before she was stopped.
Experts have come up with a sophisticated plan to use air cushions to lift the animal onto a tarp, which will be secured to two pontoons and attached to a tugboat.
State officials have approved a private initiative to transport the whale back to the North Sea and possibly further to the Atlantic. If everything goes according to plan, the tugboat carrying Timmy will have left the Baltic Sea by Friday.
“He’s not active, and he’s certainly not agile, but he shows that there’s still life in him,” Till Backhaus, the environment minister of the state of Mecklenburg-Pomerania, where Wismar is located, said Wednesday as he announced the new rescue plan. “He’s definitely suffered serious damage, that’s for sure.”
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