Stranded humpback whale on the German coast of the baltic sea
Posted by Wutraw@reddit | whales | View on Reddit | 52 comments
On Monday morning, a stranded humpback whale was found alive on the coast of the German baltic sea. Whales of that size are not common there, and less so in the Lubeck bay area where this is happening right now. The water is too shallow for it to swim away on its own. First rescue attempts failed so far - the German coastguard tried creating waves high enough for it to flee. They made it possible for it to swim a few meters, but then it got stuck again. There is hope that within the next few hours, around German midnight (UTC+1), the water level is going to rise enough for it to swim free on its own.
The rescue team inspected the whale up close and managed to remove the parts of a fish net that were not ingrown, at least. This is also how they noticed it has some kind of skin irritation, possibly caused by the low salt level in the baltic sea.
Let's hope that the whale can swim away soon!
I found a few sources in English:
Large whale stranded on the German baltic sea - Coast rescue underway
For more details, but in Germany, you can follow the live ticker of the local newspaper or infos on the news page of the local tv channel:
Humbpack whale stranded in Lubeck bay area - Rescue unlikely
Stranded Whale - Is it the recently encountered humpback whale?
Photo source: NDR
Dependent_Object9572@reddit
Just a question, why won't they euthanize the whale to put him out of his misery instead of letting him linger? He's obviously suffering. It's cruel. He's dying anyway so just help him on his way. They have done this numerous times with beached whales so why can't they do it for Timmy. I don't understand why they are just leaving him, he has to be in pain
Wutraw@reddit (OP)
Yes, people have asked this question too. I didn't know the whale had a name already. The biologists on site said there is no humane way of putting the whale down, in other words, all the methods available to them will hurt the whale more, so leaving him is the best they can do at the moment apparently.
Hailsabrina@reddit
Poor thing, and injured by fishing nets the article says . đ˘
Wutraw@reddit (OP)
Unfortunately, the whale beached again further east. Continue here: https://www.reddit.com/r/whales/s/J3og1TZfi1
Wutraw@reddit (OP)
Tuesday Update: - rescue attempts at night failed, water level did not rise high enough for it to swim away freely - area is guarded at all times to protect from stress caused by bystanders/visitors or boats - rescue team will announce a new rescue plan within the next few hours
_Kendii_@reddit
Has it made it out?
ShowAccurate6339@reddit
Yes the whale is free nowÂ
_Kendii_@reddit
Awesome!
Wutraw@reddit (OP)
Tuesday evening update: - new rescue plan includes a machine able to dig a channel through the sea soil - the machine brought to the site is too small to do the job, no further rescue attempts will be started today - a larger machine will be brought there tomorrow, but still has to be constructed on side. Digging will begin probably on thursday. - experts say unsless the whale has any illnesses, it is going to be okay until then.
FruityandtheBeast@reddit
Poor guy! I would think a big machine digging a channel would stress it out a lot, no?
_Kendii_@reddit
Anything new?
Wutraw@reddit (OP)
Not yet, it is nighttime in Germany now so we will probably get new infos tomorrow. Let's continue to hope for the best!
_Kendii_@reddit
That sucks. But thanks for bringing to attention. Itâs hard to move whales that big, especially with little tides to help.
Electronic-Iron-1203@reddit
any updates?
Taubenichts@reddit
Itâs seems to have freed itself.
https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/timmendorfer-strand-buckelwal-ist-nicht-mehr-an-ostsee-sandbank-zu-sehen-a-dfe58fa1-fae5-4874-b31c-0e0b94d526a3
Electronic-Iron-1203@reddit
oh wow! any confirmation on this?
Important-Cupcake-29@reddit
It says in German "Er sei weiter drauĂen in der Bucht gesichtet worden, sagte Stephanie GroĂ vom Institut fĂźr Terrestrische und Aquatische Wildtierforschung (ITAW). Den Angaben zufolge schwimmt das Tier auf Kurs hinaus aus der LĂźbecker Bucht. Eine Kollegin von ihr sei in einem Schlauchboot direkt neben dem Wal, so GroĂ. Zudem werde das Tier ungefähr 300 Meter vor der KĂźste von einem Schiff der KĂźstenwache und mehreren Booten begleitet."
which translates to
"It was spotted further out in the bay, said Stephanie GroĂ of the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW). According to reports, the animal is swimming out of LĂźbeck Bay. A colleague of hers is in a rubber dinghy right next to the whale, GroĂ said. In addition, the animal is being accompanied about 300 meters off the coast by a Coast Guard vessel and several other boats."
Still has to finds it's way back to safer waters, but it's definitely not stranded anymore.
Electronic-Iron-1203@reddit
That's amazing to hear, thank you! So seems it got free during the night
Wutraw@reddit (OP)
That's right and I'm beyond happy this ended with good news.
jemtayx@reddit
Incredible news! Amazing work by all involved to rescue it!
Wutraw@reddit (OP)
FINAL UPDATE with GOOD NEWS
The whale made it out!
When the rescue team arrived at the beach this morning, the whale had already made it out on it's own. It was then spotted swimming further from the shore. Police boats and coast guards joined it to guide it out of the bay area into open waters.
The wale is free!
Further info - The whale still has to reach the Northern Sea and swim back to the ocean again. The whale's skin infection due to the low salinity of the baltic can be fatal in the long run. - The rescue costs about 40.000⏠(about 46.000 USD). The federal state already declared they will cover it instead of the town. - Excavators on site already returned the sea soil and sand back to were it was before
jemtayx@reddit
Update: - they are escorting the freed whale through to the open waters of the North Sea.
You can follow updates on from marine biologist Robert Marc Lehmann on Instagram here
Electronic-Iron-1203@reddit
Thank you!, Please keep people updated, cause not everyone have instargram
Wutraw@reddit (OP)
Thursday evening update with somewhat good news:
The plan of digging a channel for the whale worked, and the whale was able to swim about 40m off the beach. An estimated 10m further will be enough for it to reach deeper waters.
Since it has gotten too dark now, they cannot continue digging, but will get to it tomorrow morning.
Clinically-Inane@reddit
10m more is so close to freedom, Iâm thinking of this sweet creature constantly and hoping things turn out the best they possibly can
sum1_on_tinternet@reddit
Thank you for this.
Please may this wonderful animal survive and find it's way to freedom.
Electronic-Iron-1203@reddit
Any comments? by that German stream video, it looked like it almost got out. Was splashing his fin. But the water seems to shallow. It also gives thise heartbraking sounds..Now it is night, they stopped the rescue so far
Wutraw@reddit (OP)
Correct, the whale was able to move further away from the shore, but is not in deep enough water yet. Let's hope for tomorrow.
bRighteyez7@reddit
Yeah, poor thing, really breaks your heart.
jemtayx@reddit
They have managed to push it a little further out and change its position. It was moving and breathing much more than the last few hours. Seems the live feed has stopped as itâs too dark.
The article says itâs still in good health and reacts to the excavation when the elevation drops and it tries to free itself again.
Adorable_Morning_532@reddit
Any current updates?
bRighteyez7@reddit
He's still there unfortunetly, poor thing
https://www.zdfheute.de/panorama/ostsee-schleswig-holstein-rettung-wal-100.html
Adorable_Morning_532@reddit
Absolutely heartbreaking. I have done nothing but think about that amazing creature for the past two days đ
jemtayx@reddit
a live stream is here https://news.sky.com/story/rescuers-in-germany-work-to-free-humpback-whale-stranded-in-baltic-sea-13524562 - watching from the, UK - hope it makes it free today
bRighteyez7@reddit
Same!
jemtayx@reddit
Very close to being free!
sum1_on_tinternet@reddit
Please let this magnificent creature survive this. I am hoping with every fibre of my being for a happy outcome!
Thank you to those good people trying their best to help.
Electronic-Iron-1203@reddit
wow, this is incredible. hope whale will make it with human help
Wutraw@reddit (OP)
Thursday Morning update
Relevant-Fill2424@reddit
please keep us updated! thank you
Wutraw@reddit (OP)
This is Wednesday's Update:
One of the experts on site answered to the question whether leaving the whale alone wouldn't be the more ethical act, so it can pass away in peace. She said they did consider this option, but since the whale appears to be healthy and agile, aside from the severe skin irritation caused by the low salinity of the baltic sea, they want to do anything they can to enable it to swim back into the open sea.
Important-Cupcake-29@reddit
You can watch a livestream of the rescue attempt here: https://www.zdfheute.de/panorama/ostsee-schleswig-holstein-rettung-wal-100.html
Wutraw@reddit (OP)
This is great, thank you.
Dovelyin@reddit
I hope the rescue team gets that whale back to deep water.
Emotional_Flight575@reddit
This is such a tough situation. The Baltic is a really unforgiving place for a whale that size, especially with the minimal tidal range, so Iâm not surprised the wave attempts didnât do much. Itâs good theyâre limiting human and boat traffic though, reducing stress can actually matter a lot in these cases. Fingers crossed the deeper channel idea works if the whaleâs still strong enough.
xcheveryx@reddit
Unfortunately, that whale will likely die. The whale is already sick. It sickens me that they wonât leave that animal alone. They got it into deeper water once but it didnât even try to escape. Whales definitely know how to help rescue efforts. That whale has spend a long time near the harbor and was entangled for a long time. Germans, unfortunately, are absolute morons when it comes to whale stranding. Their âexpertsâ thought it was a fin whale for a ridiculous amount of timeđ¤Śđźââď¸. Just shows how uneducated Germany is in that regard. My theory is that the whale will die. Itâll either die there or get stranded again
Wutraw@reddit (OP)
Unfortunately, you might be right regarding it's low chances of survival. I hope rescue teams in Germany can at least learn from this situation and be prepared next time.
xcheveryx@reddit
Unfortunately there are no designed rescue teams for whales in Germany. Germany is essentially completely unprepared and likely will remain this way. We currently have no available experts or experts experienced enough in the field to step up and take action
IneedaNappa9000@reddit
Are trying to help it??
MarlyMonster@reddit
Checked the German source, so far high tide did nothing. As of the 9am update nothing has changed, theyâre discussing options and will revisit in the afternoon.
megslikescrolling@reddit
Sadness
Hot-Science8569@reddit
Normally I would hope it beached at low tide, but Baltic sea tides are so small don't think it will make a difference.