Rescue teams in northern Germany are working to rescue a humpback whale stranded in shallow waters off the Baltic coast in the Bay of Lübeck, CNN affiliate RTL reported.
RTL reported that the whale was spotted in the Niendorf district of Timmendorfer Strand early Monday morning, and authorities began efforts to return it to deep water.
Police said they would use “all means possible” to get the animal to a point where it could swim away again.
Video released by RTL showed rescue workers trying to move the whale toward open water, but initial efforts were unsuccessful.
Experts from the Institute of Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife (ITAW) in Bysum were sent to the scene. Officials believe the stranded whale may be the same animal that has been repeatedly sighted in the Baltic Sea in recent weeks.
The whale is estimated to be 12 to 15 meters long and weigh about 15 tonnes, ITAW told CNN affiliate ZDF.
It was first spotted in the port of Wismar earlier this month, and emergency services rescued most of it from the fishing nets in which it had become entangled, RTL reported.
Last Friday, marine conservation group Sea Shepherd announced that it had removed more fishing gear debris from a humpback whale off the coast of Travemünde, raising the possibility that it was the same animal currently stranded several miles away near Niendorff.
Local public broadcaster NDR reported that the whale had moved and turned slightly since the rescue operation began. The NDR said land-based dredgers and excavators are being used to dig channels to allow the whales to reach deeper waters.
ITAW’s Stephanie Gross told NDR that buoys have been fixed to mark the water depth and guide dredger operations, which are taking place near the whale’s head. She said the plan is to create a channel about 50 meters (164 feet) long, six meters wide and 1.2 meters deep.
Rescuers and wildlife experts continue to work to prevent the animals from further stress while heavy equipment is working nearby, Gross added.
Experts warned that even if the whales were released, it may be difficult for them to leave the Baltic Sea, which is not their natural habitat. Jan Hellmann, a veterinarian and whale expert, told ZDF that the Baltic Sea is a “bottleneck” and there is no guarantee that the whales will be able to find an exit route back through Danish waters.
