Timmy, a young humpback whale stranded for weeks in shallow water, has been found dead just off the coast of Denmark, just weeks after being freed in a controversial rescue operation, according to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.
“The humpback whale that stranded near Anholt is the same whale that previously stranded in Germany and was the subject of a rescue operation,” Jane Hansen, director of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, told CNN on Saturday.
The agency confirmed the whale’s identity after one of its staff discovered and recovered a defective tracking device attached to the whale during the rescue.
“The location and appearance of the device confirm that this is the same whale that was previously observed and handled in German waters,” Hansen said.
Timmy was found on Friday near the island of Anholt, located in the Kattegat Strait between Denmark and Sweden, about 130 kilometers from where he was freed.
He was first discovered entangled in fishing nets in the port of Wismar in early March and had to be rescued by emergency services. Then, at the end of March, he became stranded in shallow water near Timmendorfer Strand, the town on Germany’s north coast that gave him his nickname. This led to a massive rescue operation and widespread media coverage of the whale’s ordeal, which was live-streamed around the world. However, rescue teams were unable to free the whale and called off the rescue operation as the whale’s health deteriorated.
But another privately funded rescue plan called for Timmy to swim onto a barge before being sent out to sea, despite warnings from scientists that the whale was too weak to survive.
While stranded, he spent his days barely moving, breathing irregularly and suffering from a severe skin disease caused by the low salinity of the Baltic Sea.
Such warnings meant rescue efforts were mired in controversy.
To critics, this was a form of animal abuse, causing severe stress to the whales for no reason.
“I think the whale is going to die soon,” Greenpeace marine biologist Tilo Mack told The Associated Press in April as rescuers tried to free Timmy. “And I would also like to raise the question: What is actually so bad about that? … Yes, animals live and animals die. This animal is really, really, very, very sick. And it decides to seek rest.”
But for others, such as the state’s environment minister, Till Backhaus, who allowed private rescue efforts to proceed, the normal response was “when lives are at stake, you take advantage of even the slightest opportunity,” he told The Associated Press.
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency added that there are no plans to remove Timmy’s carcass as it is “not currently considered to pose a problem in the area”.
He urged people to keep a safe distance and not approach the whales for health reasons or in case of an explosion.
