‘I consider it can die quickly. What’s so dangerous about that?’: Marine biologists query rescue mission for ‘Timmy’ the stranded whale as millionaires transport the humpback to North Sea

A hugely-expensive rescue bid funded by two millionaires has seen a stranded whale transported from Germany into Danish waters – despite experts saying the animal could die anyway. 

The 33ft humpback – named ‘Timmy’ by German media – swam on to a sandbank more than a month ago off the Baltic coast in Germany, and its health deteriorated as it repeatedly became stranded.

But the dramatic operation to save Timmy – which local media say will likely cost millions – has split opinion, with biologists questioning whether the 12 tonne animal should have been saved at all given its poor health and the huge price. 

‘I believe the whale will die very soon now. And I would also like to raise the question: What is actually so bad about that?’ said Thilo Maack, a marine biologist at Greenpeace, earlier this month. 

‘Yes, animals live, animals die. This animal is really, really, very, very, very sick. And it has decided to seek rest.’ 

The whale, stranded in shallow Baltic waters far from its natural Atlantic habitat, was coaxed into the vessel on Tuesday in a last-ditch attempt to return it to the sea after weeks of struggle along Germany‘s coast.

The ship Fortuna B, which is towing the barge, was located between the Danish islands of Langeland and Lolland at around 2pm on Wednesday, according to VesselFinder, with officials saying it could reach the North Sea in two days.

‘If everything goes well, he’ll be in the North Sea in two days. The very worst is already behind him now,’ said Till Backhaus, environment minister for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. 

Speaking on the island of Poel, where the animal was most recently stranded, Backhaus said it was ‘doing well’ and had made sounds during the night, thanking rescuers for their ‘wonderful’ effort in ‘an exceptional situation that is hardly comparable anywhere in the world in this form’. 

But attempts to save the mammal have been criticised by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) as ‘inadvisable’, with experts saying the creature ‘appeared to be severely compromised’ and was ‘unlikely to survive’ attempts to move it into deeper water.

The whale has been described as lethargic and suffering with blister-like blemishes, while parts of a fishing net, some of which was removed early on in its stranding, are believed to be still caught in its mouth. 

Continuing to try to save the creature amounts to ‘pure animal cruelty’, according to the director of the Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund, Burkard Baschek.

‘A rescue attempt … is no longer worthwhile … this has been confirmed to us repeatedly by international colleagues,’ he warned prior to the mission.

Experts from the museum warned again on Wednesday against letting the whale loose in the open sea, saying it was in danger of drowning, and called on the team behind the rescue operation to be transparent, including providing data on the mammal’s whereabouts and publish location if it was freed.

The humpback had been struggling for more than a month along the German coast, repeatedly getting stuck on sandbanks before freeing itself again.

At the start of April, officials abandoned rescue efforts, saying the whale could not be saved, and activists called for him to be left to die in peace. 

But public outcry led authorities to approve a privately financed plan proposed by two entrepreneurs, who said they hoped to save the mammal ‘whatever it costs’.

The movement to rescue Timmy sparked a national frenzy, with supporters baking whale-shaped cakes, writing songs about the animal and having themselves tattooed with images of the whale. 

The barge idea followed an earlier failed attempt using inflatable cushions and pontoons and was widely seen as a long shot, with experts warning it could cause further distress.

Rescuers pulled the whale into a flooded barge on Tuesday using straps and a channel dredged to create a passage to the vessel, with the operation broadcast live. 

After some distance, the whale, with rescuers swimming alongside it, sped up and then swam into the barge, sparking cheers from the rescue team and those watching from the shore. 

‘I can’t even say how happy I am,’ said Karin Walter-Mommert, one of the entrepreneurs financing the rescue bid. 

‘You could see that the whale fought and wanted to live. Knowing he’s now in the barge is simply wonderful and shows that the fight for Timmy was worth it.’ 

The barge is expected to travel around the northern tip of Denmark via the Skagerrak strait towards the North Sea, where the whale will be released if it is strong enough.

A piece of green netting has been used to close the entrance so it does not swim out prematurely.

Backhaus, who approved the mission after vets said the whale was fit to be transported, said: ‘We have worked here day and night, and in the end we have saved this animal.’

‘Something like this has never happened before in Germany, where a life-saving operation of this kind has been carried out,’ he added at a press conference.

‘And this was an experiment, and the experiment was a success, and that’s wonderful.’

The minister said the whale had been resting peacefully and had vocalised on Tuesday night, suggesting it was doing well.

The debate over whether to let it die or try to return it to the Atlantic has raged for weeks, with protests on beaches in Wismar and competing views from scientists and activists.

Some scientists believe the whale sought shallow waters because it was weak and needed rest, while veterinarians involved in the private initiative maintain it was fit for transport.

The IWC was clear in its denouncement of active interventions to save stranded whales, ‘including refloat or translocation attempts such as towing or moving by barge’.

Such operations are ‘inadvisable on grounds of animal welfare and human safety’, it said.

‘In our assessment, these interventions, although well meant, impose very considerable additional stress upon a creature that is already gravely ill, to little ultimate benefit.’

Backhaus defended the rescue, saying it was ‘definitely worth it’.

‘I’ve always said, those who do nothing make no mistakes,’ he added.

‘If only the scientists [who] said it was all pointless… had seen the young [whale] now, how he swam into the barge all by himself’, he said.

He also insisted authorities had relied on scientific advice, saying: ‘No one could tell us with certainty that the whale would die, and when. On the basis of these vague statements, we decided to tolerate the rescue attempt.’

The saga has sparked a media frenzy, with non-stop coverage and heated debate, as Germany now waits to see whether Timmy can survive back in the wild.