Stranded for 38 Days - Humpbackwhale Timmy was rescued and on his way home to the atlantic from Germany ❤️
Posted by RegisteredOnToilet@reddit | whales | View on Reddit | 289 comments
They called him dead and on his deathbed 25days ago. He proofed them wrong and the biggest whale experts from Norway, Island and Whale vetenarian from Hawaii said he is NOT DYING.
German Goverment listened and managed to start the most technical and complex Whale rescure mission of all time with international Help and two private investors from Germany taking all the responability.
In 3-4 days he will be back home. They bring him to a humpback whale Family
flabellinida@reddit
He swam into that flooded boat by himself ... That was pretty interesting, why would he do that. And before, when they tried to get him free from the sandbank, he signalled by a sharp exhale, when the people should pull. That makes me think, if he knows what's going on?
Gramposity@reddit
It is very dangerous to anthropomorphize animals. We have absolutely no means to know how cetaceans think, especially not baleen whales. The animal swam into the barge because a channel was dug that the barge was at the end of and they pulled the animal in the direction of the channel. Once it was off of sand, it could swim and only in one direction. Its a huge leap to say that it had a big picture view of the situation and was assisting in this massive plan.
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
He swam in, and didn't turn around though it was wide enough and he definitely saw it was a dead end, didn't freak out when he found himself enclosed. He has been moving in the barge, but made zero attempts to escape it. He isn't attacking anyone, even when the medical treatment must hurt. He is presenting his fins for salve rubs. He is watching the researchers and vocalising at them, but not showing signs of agitation.
Honestly, at this point, Ockham's razor is that the animal that has been dug out and cooled and given salves and pulled off sandbanks by humans for a month understands that they are trying to help.
It clearly took it a while to understand the the humans wanted him on the barge. And he was briefly alarmed when it started moving. I don't think he understood what the barge was for originally. But I do think he understood the humans who were trying to help him really wanted him to get in it.
And he must be aware that he is at the North Sea now. The salinity has changed.
Gramposity@reddit
The whale did not swim out when the channel to deeper water was dug. It had several days to do so. What is your explanation for that?
When the barge arrived, it didn't swim to it, it had to be drug to start. Once it started swimming, there was only one place to go - the barge at the end of the channel. The "rescuers" ensured that that was the case.
Occam's Razor (parsimony) says the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. For your explanation to work, you have to add a whole lot of understanding and big picture knowledge to an animal that we have no evidence to has that capability. That is not a simple answer. It is a very complex one. The simple answer is that it was pure engineering and the whale swam into the barge that the people engineered it to swim into.
What are you basing your belief that the whale "understands" what the people are doing on? Are you able to show any studies that illustrate that baleen whales have this capability?
In the 30 years that I have worked around baleen whales, I have never seen anything that would suggest that this juvenile humpback understands the plan. They are amazing animals and have incredible skills and physiologies. I don't see them as being big picture thinkers.
flabellinida@reddit
I know. It just made me wonder. I mean, they're not stupid.
Gramposity@reddit
True, but intelligence is relative. They're very smart for what they were designed to do and the environment they evolved in. However, their "intelligence" is most likely not something that we can comprehend just like they are unlikely to be able to comprehend ours. Also, keep in mind that mysticete brains work differently than odontocete brains. Most of what we know about cetacean intelligence comes from the latter.
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
Pretty sure he does at this point.
They showed footage of treating him in the barge, treating his hurting skin - and he is presenting fins, rubbing back against them. They report he watches them, turns towards them, cooperates with what they need to do, shows zero signs of aggression. He is also constantly vocalising.
I mean, is that so surprising? They are highly intelligent animals. He got stuck, and humans dug him out, pulled him out. Humans poured water on when he was overheating, and smeared zinc on his itchy wounds, that must feel good. Like, they originally tried dragging him to the barge and that wasn't possible at all, and then when he was finally in the water went he got what they were trying to do, he swam in, when he must have seen the dead end, and didn't freak out after.
energyconcious@reddit
Exactly. People think animals are not intelligent when in reality they are the most intelligent beings. My dog understands human words but I can’t understand a bark he says and it’s all animals , regardless if they are wild or not. It has been proven 1000 times, koko the gorilla who learned silent language and spoke silent language to us, is a great example. Humans just need education in subjects they don’t understand and that’s what the world lacks today!
Franzenstein42@reddit
As far as I know the whale is pretty weak and can't be released in open water. He needs shallow water to recover, so they have to put him somewhere where he can "lie down". If I remember correctly he still has a fishing net in his mouth that couldn't be removed by Sea Shepherd in March. So they would have to remove that because right now he is not able to feed (well). Also he has a skin condition because the water in the Baltic sea has a different salinity than the Atlantic. I don't know how this is going to affect his chances. I just hope that the team rescuing him considers all his needs and can help him in some way. I'm German and have been following the fate of Timmy since March. I get most my Infos from NDR (north German Public TV and radio station) and Spiegel. I wish that I could be optimistic about this and that he survives, but I am hesitant with all that's wrong with him at the moment. 🤞🤞🤞🤞
Gramposity@reddit
Thank you for this. Its fine for people to hope and wish. I'm right there with you. My problem has been with the people who actively ignore the voices who have been trying to advocate for letting this animal die in peace. These voices also happen to be the ones that collectively have thousands of hours of experience with these cases. They have this experience because they too love and care for these animals.
PitifulMedia3379@reddit
If the whale wanted to die in peace he would have done that by now, but that is not the case. Instead he willingly swam into the barge on his own to be saved. Whales are highly intelligent and he could sense the people around him were there to save him. He is a young male humpback so there is a good chance in my opinion that he will survive. Those who are involved in the rescue mission will not just let him be on his own when they reach the Atlantic waters. He will be cared for and checked out prior to him being released.
Gramposity@reddit
From where do you get your information on how long it should this whale to die? Its a bold statement and one that should be backed up by evidence, experience, or something.
A channel was dug into deeper water. That channel stayed open for several days and the whale did not swim through it even though it had ample opportunity. When the barge arrived, it did not swim into it on its own. It had to be pulled into a position and then it swam through the channel into the barge at the end. It wasn't will, it was engineering.
Again, what is your source for this? Are you confusing the demonstrated intelligence of odontocetes with mysticetes? How do you know how intelligent baleen whales are and how do you measure that? I have worked around baleen whales for 30 years and would never make a statement to this effect.
Franzenstein42@reddit
I was convinced that letting him die in peace is the kind thing to do. Now I can't tell if he has a real chance with this rescue mission or whether they are prolonging his suffering. I hope that I was wrong in wanting to let him die in peace and he gets to live but I am also really critical of the rescue at this moment. Time will tell and I send positive thoughts to the whale. I am not knowledgeable enough to determine what's right for him at this point.
ExquisiteVoid@reddit
I think if they rescued him within the first week he'd have healed and been swimming free by now, letting a whale die by stranding/starvation while the cruel sun burns him is a horrible fate. It'd be more humane to have euthanized him if he couldn't recover, rather than stand and watch him die in a torturous way.
Franzenstein42@reddit
True. As far as I know there is no way to euthanize a whale. There was definitely talk about it in March, but someone said that it has been tried before with other stranding whales and it didn't work. It just made the last moments of the whale more painful. But since this was just a side comment in an interview I don't know whether that's an anecdote or actual sience.
Schmantikor@reddit
No there is a way and it was discussed a lot. As horrible as it sounds you blow them up. Of course the animal would be tranquilised before but this is the only way to quickly and painlessly kill a humpback whale.
prunus_cerasifera@reddit
I read that the veterinarians treated the net in the mouth (I imagine they removed it?)
Gramposity@reddit
They got the part that was outside away. There is still some stuck in the baleen and very likely leads into the throat and possibly stomach.
TroubleWhole7339@reddit
Ja. Jetzt bringen sie ihn außer Sichtweite, damit man ihm nicht beim Sterben zuschauen muss. Er hat ein Fischernetz im Maul und wahrscheinlich auch im Schlund, was sie nicht herausbekommen haben. Er hat seit 4 Wochen nicht gefressen. Das wird schon gutgehen.
MsBuzzkillington83@reddit
Right?! Wtf is wrong with ppl, this other person was convinced that it was "confirmed" the fishing net in his mouth was removed. I feel like that would be major news on its own especially since it's always been mentioned like it's a factor that was not going anywhere
TroubleWhole7339@reddit
Maybe you can translate this Text from a german newspaper
Freisetzung nicht gleich Rettung
Als gerettet gilt der Wal auch nach dem Freisetzen nicht. Nach der langen Liegezeit ist es laut Meeresbiologen fraglich, ob der Wal noch normal schwimmen und tauchen könne. Auch die Frage, ob der Wal fressen könne, stelle sich wegen der in seinem Maul gefundenen Netzteile. Der Wal sei allen Anzeichen nach alles andere als fit, sagte Meeresbiologie Fabian Ritter gegenüber der dpa.
Die Tierschutzorganisation Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) betonte: »Von einer Rettung kann man erst sprechen, wenn sich der Wal zurück im Nordatlantik befindet und dort langfristig überlebt; sich seine Haut wieder vollständig erholt hat; er wieder eigenständig auf Nahrungssuche geht und an Gewicht zunimmt und seinem natürlichen Verhalten nachgeht.«
Nach Einschätzung unter anderem von WDC und Internationaler Walfangkommission (IWC) hat der Wal kaum langfristige Überlebenschancen. Ohne funktionierenden Sender droht allerdings unbemerkt zu bleiben, würde das geschwächte Tier binnen Tagen oder Wochen nach dem Freisetzen verenden.
Source: https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/ostsee-wal-news-heute-buckelwal-in-nordsee-freigesetzt-a-44332347-b576-46e0-89ca-2eaaf7c35f8d
SirCharlesismylove@reddit
Is Timmy being fed while this is happening? It seems the net is a huge problem and he needs nutrition
opelan@reddit
Seemingly humpback whales sometimes don't eat for 3-6 months and he wasn't malnourished. Also feeding such a whale is seemingly not even really possible. But it was also not really needed here. There was no risk that he would die of hunger in these few days.
He is free now. Hopefully he is healthy enough to survive. Hopefully he has also not net in his body.
Vettkja@reddit
If you care about this whale, or any whales, please consider his net injury that could have killed him was caused by fishing nets.
Best way to save whales? Don’t support ocean fishing by consuming oceanic products, which are not only their food source but the leading contributor to ocean plastics like this net.
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
Hate to ask, but I'm assuming this includes any meaningful source of EPA? (An omega 3 acid I really need in that particular form to manage my illness.)
Vettkja@reddit
You can easily research plant-based, ethical sources of omegas. Just search online.
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
I'm aware of ALA sources, but my body, like many, doesn't do the conversion at a high enough rate that would allow plants like flaxseed to work, and afaik, the only DHA sources are algae, and their EPA content is low.
Vettkja@reddit
There’s no physiological need for animal-based products. Barring extreme cases, the vast majority of the human population can consume plant-based foods be be perfectly healthy, indeed often more so than those consuming dead animals or their breast milk. If you care about quakes enough to ask a stranger in the internet a seemingly genuine question about your own health, then I suggest just searching on the internet for how much of this nutrient you actually need and which plants have it in a way that’s bioavailable for you.
MsBuzzkillington83@reddit
Do we know if his injury to his mouth is bad enough that it's affecting his ability to eat? They called it a "serious" injury. Makes me wonder if that's why he tried to strand himself in the first place
Wild-Kitchen@reddit
Cool he even has his own live tracking website! www.timmywhale.com
Bobinthegarden@reddit
According to donor Karin Walter-Mommert, Timmy notices that he is on his way to home waters. “He sings more melodically and powerfully. Overall, he is livelier, floating and floating in his swimming pool," the millionaire told BILD.
MASSiVELYHungPeacock@reddit
I pray he's strong enough to not drown in deep waters. And may his skin treatments be enough that when he hits the deep blue, the proper salinity will be enough to heal the rest. Those against these rescues, why? This is privately funded, abd he was going to die anyway. Don't for a second think he doesn't well know now that these humans are trying to help, either. They're scary smart, and I'm sorry leaving him to die so young is the real crime. May Timmy live hundreds of years, while proving aggressive help/relocation is an option because here in Washington state we've seen multiple young whales die the very same way these last few months, us with months to save a couple of them, too, after swimming up rivers.
DrofYendor@reddit
I can't help but wonder if he stranded himself to die in his own manner. From what I read No one can say for sure why he stranded himself repeatedly. In that sense I can see how hauling him back out into the deep to die the death he was trying to avoid isn't in his best interest. We have no way of knowing if they are helping him or harming him to sooth their own emotions. I personal believe after a few attempts of rescue they should have let him be. Not for the sake of money, but for his own peace.
142241_II@reddit
In some cases that might be true but I think you are missing some pieces of information to further finetune your opinion. It is natural selection in as much that a whale is sick or stranded with great damage to internal organs. In this case the whale continued to show the will to live and fight and the water (although there was little and not salt enough) was enough to keep the pressure off of his organs sufficiently. Now, there have been several military drills in the Ostsee and surrounding areas just before and at the time of the first whale sightings (also a white beluga was spotted) and while these were discovered by accident, where there are two, there may be more. Also, I believe it is normal for a whale to strand time and again as long as they are in shallow waters with lot of sandbanks and there was no real effort or plan or even will until the private initiative, during which even, while the team was getting prepared as the whale had freed himself again on April 22nd and was swimming, two least experienced team members got in a boat and collided with the whale, causing him to panic, swim in the wrong direction, and get stuck again.. It seems to me everything in this story is by human ‘failing’ and this whale, deserves to be helped by whatever means appropriate or possible. Even after more than a month he was still in awesome condition in as much as it could be awesome after that time in less than ideal conditions and with little to no food.. he even swam to the barge - that is now further taking him to the North Sea- on his own. Idk if this helps but I felt like giving the info to alleviate some misunderstanding that may be based on misinformation
DrofYendor@reddit
he also has a fishing net in his mouth that I've read many experts consider a major problem. i have no doubt human activity caused the majority of harm but if he is past living no sense in continuing to harm him trying to help. That won't erase man's fault in the matter, but only increase it. I guess time will tell. I hope he survives and it's a big victory for all. I am very limited on my knowledge of whlaes and have to trust opinons of experts. Ive read lots of expert opinions that say his chance of survival is very low. A difference of opinion isn't necessarily misinformation. Plenty of experts who truly care about whales say the chances are very slim and they are likely causing unnecessary stress. There is a reason this attempt is private.
Winter-Warlock8954@reddit
Whales do not beach themselves to die, they're usually "blinded" when something interrupts their ability to echolocate. Their natural sonar provides information about shorelines and sometimes they get bad feedback.
142241_II@reddit
Ok so I’ve researched about this and according to latestavailable info - They don’t know where the net is.. most likely there may be one or more hooks from industrial fishing but since and endoscopic examination has not been possible, they do not know exactly where the hooks/nets are.. This MAY be a reason for concern, yet in some cases scar tissue is formed around the object and depending on the gear used, hooks can dissolve in time or be expelled even… This gives me all the more reason to think these sources have every will to find reasons to be overly dramatic. They could attempt an examination but without clear facts and data it’s all wild speculation.. Given that even with hooks and parts of net stuck there is long term chance of survival (without complications) I feel more inclined as ever to be pro save the whale - yet I fully agree that at some point it became painful to watch as every day became the next and every week dissolved into the next and some things could have been dealt with in a more professional manner also and at some point the whale seemed to have lost hope and became somewhat lethargic, yet revived the next day full force.. this is why I believe they did right by not forfeiting the rescue efforts, albeit not a moment to soon
DrofYendor@reddit
I do stand corrected at calling it a private rescue. There are a couple of whale organizations involved still at this point. But still plenty of well meaning organizations are hands off and disagree with these attempts. I guess I just side with those experts. I was all for trying to save him early on but at this point it just feels wrong to me. I hope I am proven wrong and he survives and thrives.
142241_II@reddit
Oh this comment came in while I was still typing the other - well actually you were right it’s ‘private’ in as much as it’s an initiative of two individuals who only over last days/weeks got some international organizations involved who are experienced with whale rescue. And thanks for your kind thought towards the little humpback who still has fight left in him and who is singing more each night now too every day more melodic. Oh, I thought they had managed to get the nets out
142241_II@reddit
It is not because they are expert they have the best interest or even in fact are ‘expert’.. you may have read about the museum? And yes it is private with tolerance of the government, who themselves chose to follow their own procedures and rules®ulations. Everything got stalled and it was hard to find a vet (after Wallace) as they are supposed to take full responsibility of the operation and there are severe repercussions in case anything goes sideways. It is fine, everyone can have an opinion and neither will be right as long as it is opinion, facts are facts. And surely his chances have slimmed somewhat after such a long time but like said he did everything to earn the name ‘Hope’. Even if chances are slim - the reverse is also true that no one can say for sure that he won’t make it. So why shouldn’t he get the opportunity to be saved? Even in statistics it’s either 0 or 1. So far, the veterinarian has stated that he is responding very good to the presence of the helpers surrounding him and his condition was fairly good, no matter what any doom prophet may say, I like to think the vet counts as an expert :) and she has literally nothing to gain (except her spot in heaven) but a lot at stake. I mean we can’t treat a sentient even altruistic being the same as an amoeba
Winter-Warlock8954@reddit
Some people want to see the world in black and white, human and animal.
I wonder if they would advocate for leaving a kid at the bottom of the well, because clearly they wanted to die, why else would they be in thebottom of a well?
Whales don't beach themselves to die, their echolocation usually gets screwed up and they get beached while they're effectively blind.
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
He didn't seem happy stranded, he kept struggling to get free again, and he successfully freed himself several times.
What seemed to happen is that he intentionally went on sandbanks to rest, bopping up for air, then sinking down again.
But in the Baltic, sea level undergoes drastic changes. Like, it can fall 3 m in a day. And leave most areas at like 80 cm, with some channels left, and dead ends.
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
He 100 % understands they are helping. He swam into the ship, when he must have seen it was a dead end, under human guidance, but not force, and when he was inside, stayed calm. The boat is open now, and he is swimming in it, but not swimming off. He doesn't just tolerate touch, but presents his fins for scratches and treatment. He's making eye contact and vocalising at humans. They've been digging him out, cooling him off, offering food, soothing his wounds.
My main fear is that he won't be able to sustain swimming long enough. I hope they can keep the barge in the region and let him return for rest. The fact that he currently does not want to get off it is telling here - I really wouldn't force him. He kept resting on sandbanks in the Baltic, his muscles must be atrophied, and he can't rest in the open ocean, and Denmark and Norway have been clear that he'd die if he stranded there again.
I'd also be worried about him approaching boats in the future, but he's already been hit by one and gotten injured prior to this, so he must know their backs are dangerous.
Elbfuchs@reddit
It's privately funded? Because most of the negativity comes from the state giving out thousands for some whale while doing budget cuts. So why did nobody tell me it was privatly funded.
PitifulMedia3379@reddit
You should have been reading what is being written then you would know who is funding the rescue. Two wealthy entrepreneurs who care about marine life.
_Kendii_@reddit
Well that’s what the description says.
hisdudeness47@reddit
Ugh. I live on the Washington coast and what's happening on our beaches this spring is tragic.
elchi13@reddit
They give the water hight in cm above NN which is total bullshit.
NN has been replaced more than 30 years ago and levels have their individual reference height anyway.
ICON_4@reddit
It’s a vibecoded website, don’t expect much…
beston54@reddit
Was surprised this comment isn’t higher. I guess people just really can’t tell / don’t care.
elchi13@reddit
And people seem to be very allergic against facts. 😂
biggus_Donguss@reddit
Thanks for the geodesy TED Talk, but I think we’re just trying to see where the whale is.
blonde-bandit@reddit
Snark aside, as a PNW person, I’m really upset that whales aren’t doing well. I want to follow their movements and hope people take care of them. They are brilliant creatures, and also canaries in the ocean. They are crying out because we aren’t treating their ecosystem well.
blonde-bandit@reddit
A+ sarcasm
SimonGray653@reddit
And of course there's a coin attached to it, because nothing says like I'm a piece of shit human being like how can I make money from this.
Also if anyone thinks that the money will be used as a donation to help other humpback whale recovery, then they should probably check their wallet because they just got scammed big-time.
RegisteredOnToilet@reddit (OP)
100%. Very sad
Dont buy any shitcoins or untrusted donations regarding this Whale.
He is 100% funded by two private persons and 100+ Volunteers helping for free. Noone is asking for any money there.
U cant trust random people its for other whale recoverys too.
SimonGray653@reddit
Sadly people have already bought 45K worth of this thing. I mean, aren't we the stupidest species in the world.
camimiele@reddit
Aw! This is awesome thanks for linking :D
stalkthewizard@reddit
Timmy is a slacker and needs to get his shit together and quit relying on others.
Muted-Personality-76@reddit
I'm going to be unpopular here....
Declaring the scientists wrong is very premature. The whale in the Baltic is severely starved, has had incredible pressure on his organs, and still has fishing line in his mouth. He's also been suffering from skin disease and has displayed his ability to navigate was at the very least compromised for a month. We do not yet know if that specific issue was a short term problem or something longer lasting.
I'd also like to point out, the people who were making these statements have devoted their lives to learning about and loving these magnificent beings. It's dangerous to make such presumptions about their "lack of faith" when they are holders of much more intimate knowledge than we are.
I do hope this whale survives, I absolutely love whales. But I honestly think this whole thing is more a reflection on our discomfort with death and an inability to face what we've done to our oceans. It also further magnifies how we want to prove one side is "good" and another is "bad." The scientists who were actually caring for and trying to determine the BEST course of action for him received death threats. This is horrifying behavior.
There's many people who haven't had to make choices like this or weigh the options. I grew up on a ranch where this was an actual decision we had to make sometimes. We would always first try to save the animal. I remember one winter where my dad brought calves in on sleds to our house and put them in a warm bath to try to save them from hypothermia. Sometimes there were baby lambs in our foyer because the barn was too cold. I personally tube fed infant animals to keep them alive and went with my dad on many occasions to give medicine in the pastures to cows with foot rot. But I also vividly remember a time where we had a 3 legged calf who couldn't walk. We kept him alive for months, but one day he managed to drag himself out of the barn into the sun in the middle of the summer. And we didn't see him until the next feeding time. He refused to drink or eat and was experiencing heat exhaustion past the point of return. My mom and I found him and didn't have the heart to put him down, so we stayed with him until my dad got home. He was suffering, what my dad had to do was merciful.
There is loving whales and there is knowing whales. Marine biologists do both. Not one of them there wanted to cause further harm to him. Not one of them made that declaration flippantly. Not recognizing that is genuinely harmful.
franzpferdinant@reddit
wasting ( i think) 1,5 million euros off german taxes for a whale that will probaly die anyways .
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
This whale cost two grand in taxes. That is fucking nothing. This is nearly all donations.
opelan@reddit
Two multimillionaires are paying for this.
just_another_owl@reddit
There would have been much more value in using the money that was spent on rescuing this whale to support general conservation efforts and fight commercial fishing with these huge fuckoff nets.
But that isn't as marketable so here we are.
Anyone who celebrates the rescue of this whale but eats meat and/or especially fish is a hypocrite.
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
I'm as left wing as they come and the fact that anyone who thinks it is beautiful for humans to save a whale - not efficient, not certain, but beautiful none-the-less - is being framed as right wing now is nuts.
It is honestly shameful that our government and experts did such a shit job that a bunch of rich folks willing to work with Nazis and folks with no credentials ended up doing a better job. And they did, much as I hate to say it. They had a mindset of getting shit done and trying hard things and common sense things, and it worked better than all this hesitant handwringing. This being a win for the right is shit. It's a call for the left and center to be bolder and have common sense and do the right thing.
Round-Gold-9474@reddit
You are the guy (Judas) that was told of by Jesus in the Bible. People who see something and feels negative about it, if u don't have anything nice to say just don't say anything. Everyone doesn't feel like you, there's also no reason to try and let others feel negative about it as well.
You are just coating your negativeness with something if done would be positive, you wont really want to do it even if you are given a chance
moonlit-cigarette@reddit
How is that good news? The whale is suffering and has been suffering. This feels more like performative activism rather than judging what really helps „Timmy“. I doubt he will survive for long especially after the immense stress of the rescue…
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
He actually did not seem stressed by the rescue. He swam into the barge voluntarily. He didn't freak out finding himself in it. He hasn't tried to leave it. He presents his fins for treatment. His vitals are improving. He evidently understands that in a bizarre way, the humans are trying to help.
RegisteredOnToilet@reddit (OP)
Sure, him beeing stuck in sticky mud sand burning his back open in the sun for month until he dies painfully and cruel is the better option.
moonlit-cigarette@reddit
No, but considering that this is also highly stressful and harmful for the whale and the likelihood of survival is small, maybe putting him to sleep would have been kinder.
RegisteredOnToilet@reddit (OP)
Thats what most people actually hoped would happen after they said he will die at this spot. But even that was declined by the first round of Experts.
If it would not be for this attempt, he would lie in the sticky mudsand for probably many weeks and die painfuly since he was well fed when he stranded
No-Relative5284@reddit
this whale is the best example of what is going wrong with this country ...
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
I think how symbolic he felt is a huge reason he got such media and public resonance, yes.
PitifulMedia3379@reddit
I am thrilled to learn that Timmy is being rescued!!!! I have been reading the updates hoping for a miracle that some wonderful persons would step up and save him. It was upsetting to read the other side of it for sure! I feel he is on his way to recovery! I love the fact these highly intelligent mammals know when help has arrived. Timmy swam into the barge on his own without any help which was so amazing in itself considering his weakened condition!! Sending blessings to Timmy for a safe journey back to the Atlantic seas. And Thank you to all those people involved with his rescue!!! ♥️♥️♥️🐋🐋🐳🐋🐋
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
Sadly, the people who stepped in and managed this in the end are, at least some of them, really not wonderful people. But I do agree they are doing a wonderful thing, and I really hope he makes it against all odds.
Ferris-L@reddit
This whole situation was just stupid, I’m sorry. I just hope there wasn’t any state funds supporting this rescue because they are spending a shit ton of money on „rescuing“ a whale that stranded naturally and is likely too weak to even survive by himself currently. I’m not usually one to believe in crazy theories but the only reason anyway this story was pushed so much in the last couple of weeks was because the government fucked up a lot recently like getting caught trying to silently increase the salary of Friedrich Merz and his secretaries by ~20% while everyone else is supposed to take one for the team.
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
The government has spent near nothing on this. This is all private donations. Their money, their call.
kitnzkat@reddit
I'm so confused by everything going on. Obviously I'm just some random person on Reddit, and I know there's a ton of political drama with right-wing MAGA types I don't know about.
But the argument seems like it was never "send Timmy out to sea where he might drown, or euthanize him," it's been "Timmy drowns at sea or languishes until he dies in shallow water"?
I'm not someone who thinks every animal should be saved even if they're suffering. Euthanasia seems more humane to me than either option. I know in Oregon, which isn't too far from me, they usually euthanize whales in this situation. But it seems like the people who are against the rescue attempt because he'll probably die were okay with him arguably suffering much worse in shallow water?
opelan@reddit
The costs are not a problem for people as two multimillionaires pay for it. So no one is really complaining about tax money potentially being wasted.
The opinions just vary about what is best for the whale, how it would suffer the least. And some people are also just way more optimistic than others about its chances to survive long term.
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
I think it is still better for it to drown in a day in the north sea and become whalefall than waste away for weeks on a sandbank while cracking open in the sun and eaten alive by scavengers.
I don't think his chances are high, but they are there, he does want to try, and he's happier now than the was on the bloody sandbank. For all the whining, he went on the barge voluntarily and stayed there voluntarily and seems very chill about the helpers and his vitals improved and his skin healed.
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
Effectively, killing a whale like that is gory, and at this point, people are so invested that there are death threats, so noone is still willing to blow him up. (I was team grow some ovaries and blow him up, as well.)
Their argument was "a whale this big can't be killed" (obvious nonsense, you'd be surprised what the military can blow up) and "it would briefly hurt him and they might even have to shoot twice (which sucks, but not as much as dying for weeks). Also something about it being a dignified end (what the heck) and natural (except I promise you they would have moved the stinking corpse rather than letting the ecosystem have it).
So many people were willing to donate. Like, this has never happened before, this whale was in the wrong fucking ocean, none of us ever see these huge animals, it really moved people, and saying to just let him lie there till he rots was fucking cowardice imo.
I think the trolls are a response to the fact that many adult Germans have been literally and publicly crying over this whale. (Which I find beautiful.) Like, he was right next to public beaches screaming for weeks, struggling to get free, at times managing, getting livestreamed... It really got to people.
MsBuzzkillington83@reddit
They specifically stated that it was not safe for vets to properly euthanize him (due to being a huge animal that could kill them with just a minor pivot of his fins)
Yet op is stating they managed to get an endoscope into his throat to "confirm" no net remained? I call B's
Literally the only sources claiming no net remains have been from social media posts
RegisteredOnToilet@reddit (OP)
Yes, it was either rescue or let him die slow and painfully in a span of weeks or month...
Actually most people where hoping they would just euthanise him and give him a quick and painless death when we heard that he has no chance.
But Greenpeace and the first expers decided to let him die on the sticky sand, unable to move and the sun burning down his skin because every encounter would be even more cruel than trying to eutenaize,help or treat his back with wet towels to stop him burning his back in the sun.... that really doesnt make sense.
He was alive for over 20+ days on the same spot fighting until the decision came to help him. Thats the best outcome now.
Some comments here try to make this look like a dumb decision, bring stupid comments like its a right wing politica thing(1 from 1000 people helping is a right wing influencer...who cares if he helps?), but everyone actually on the spot said the whale is healthy enough, has power and was even able to be fed fish and shrimps multiple times. Zero politics is involved in this rescue, its just Humans coming together and helping that poor whale that stranded far from home in germany
Gramposity@reddit
Backhaus is 100% a politician. I'm sure he wants the best for the whale, but he is also responding to what he sees as the will of the people. ITAW and Deutsches Meeresmuseum advised him not to attempt the rescue and he listened... until the demonstrations started. Then he ignored them and changed his tune.
Friendly_Lecture8861@reddit
A museum protesting against letting a whale live surely it wouldn’t want that for its kadaver
Gramposity@reddit
That statement is concrete proof of someone who has no idea how museums actually operate. Museums exist to maximize the use of specimens for the purpose of discovery and in the case of zoological collections, for conservation as well. I know many curators and not one of them would rather have a dead animal in their collection than a live one in the wild. Next time you’re at a museum ask any staff member this question. You’ll learn something.
Friendly_Lecture8861@reddit
You do know that a lot of pieces portrait in museums are from several other countries, sometimes even taken without permission of original country? So your argument might seem ethical, and I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt that you might think that way, but that does not mean that is actually how museums operate. Next time think about that when you visit a museum.
Gramposity@reddit
I’m very aware of the colonial issues and destruction that museums have done in the past. I was referring to the current state of museum science. Curators these days are researchers and want their collections to be used for the widest possible good. They also contribute very widely to conservation science. I’ve worked with many and they are working hard to correct the mistakes of museums in the past. Like I said, just talk to a few and you’ll see.
Gramposity@reddit
People have been responding to large whale strandings and entanglements for a very, very long time. A body of knowledge has been acquired over that time on what works and what doesn't and what the fate of those animals ultimately is. This stranding and entanglement fell relatively squarely into the bin of it is very unlikely this whale will survive in the wild if it can be freed.
I, for one, am not gloating nor do I find the whale's fate hilarious. What I'm saddened about is the shift that society seems to be going through where people have lost the ability to critically and logically evaluate evidence and rapidly discount the opinions of those who have spent their lives in rigorous study of how to do so. Anyone who says "The experts are wrong" should be required to clearly demonstrate how they know that, because that means they think they are more expert than the people they are criticizing.
kitnzkat@reddit
Thank you for explaining. I’m sure I’m missing something because there’s no way I know more about it than experts on either side of this, but is it true they didn’t euthanize because it would’ve been expensive?
I think that’s the part I’m struggling with because whale experts in Oregon prefer to euthanize and have been saying that’s the best option here, but it seems they’re being dismissed by locals because they’re from the US and therefore don’t know anything even though humpbacks are the most commonly stranded whale in this area. There’s still public outcry but nowhere near this level.
Gramposity@reddit
There are two main ways to euthanize: chemically and "balistically/kinetically".
Chemical euthanasia of a large whale requires, well, a lot of the chemicals. When the whale is relatively submerged as this one was, you have to consider the effects on the release of that many toxins into the ecosystem. Germany has a lot of rules about protection of the ecosystem that would have made this very difficult.
Ballistic/Kinetic euthanasia of a large whale is messy. You can't reliably do it with any sort of firearm that they have easy access to. The locals would not like the amount of explosives necessary plus there is an issue with containment of parts afterwards, especially in the waterway.
kitnzkat@reddit
Thank you. They use lethal injection here. And the US has less restrictions on that, that's true. Not to be morbid, I guess, but can't they just... drown him? If he's going to drown either way, why not make it quick and not a dragged out process over multiple days?
If this all boils down to it being illegal to euthanize a whale via guidelines, it seems like bringing him out to sea is literally the only humane option even if it will still result in his death.
Gramposity@reddit
However, how humane is it to subject the animal to the weeks of noise and stress of multiple rescue attempts in order to tow it out where it will die? Isn't it better to try to quietly keep it as comfortable as possible while it dies in place?
kitnzkat@reddit
Normally, I would agree, but hasn't that resulted in him living much longer than anyone expected? And he's been suffering injuries from being left there while still somehow managing to survive. It could take weeks or months and that's torture too.
Gramposity@reddit
True - its not a painless death. But, it does happen all the time. We just happened to witness this one. What doesn't happen is that while these animals are stranding and dying, they have to deal with the constant sensory overload of noise and pure stress of the unknown with all of these hairless apes surrounding and trying to manipulate them. I don't honestly know which is worse, but looking at the big picture, when this whale is released and dies later, I don't think we can say it had a "peaceful" ending.
Valuable_K@reddit
It's way too early to declare this a success.
The people saying rescue is possible are the professionals who have been paid to rescue him.
Meanwhile the experts with no skin in the game - the German Oceanographic Museum, the IWC, British Divers Marine Life Rescue - all said don't do this. These are not "controversial experts" by the way. These are people who have no incentives to tell anything other than the truth, unlike professional rescuers and politicians.
He's a sick juvenile who was probably already dying when he was found, who has now been heaved through sand on straps, loaded into a sound-reflective steel hold, and is being towed several days through busy shipping lanes to be released near Skagen. If he survives the transit, he's then released alone into the North Sea with no pod, no migration memory of these waters, possible hearing damage, prior entanglement injury, severely depleted body condition, and skin too compromised to even hold a tracking tag.
I can't see him surviving. I hope to God I'm wrong.
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
I've honestly been unusually frustrated at the experts here. They kept predicting things that turned out to be false (he would be dead within days; he'd be skinned if belts were used; he couldn't possibly be moved into the barge; that his skin can't heal), making statements that were obviously false (that a whale this large can't be killed, not even with military weapons) and saying stuff that was just as speculative as the mediums (e.g. stating that his current vocalisations are unknown, have never been recorded - but then deducing that they are likely death or torture sounds, rather than literally anything else). They wanted the skeleton. They at this point have skin in the game in this operation being abandoned or this whale dying, cause they said he couldn't be saved, and it looks bad if that was wrong. At this point, the experts said it should be considered a failure if they don't film the release, apply a deep water tracker, and prove that this animal survives for many years feeding and socialising normally, which is a very high bar.
Like, so much of this is simply unknown. We couldn't know how he would react to being pulled, to being in the moving barge, to having zinc cream applied, to getting shade, what his vocalisations mean. Noone knows. Yet the experts keep claiming to know. It gets to me that the interventions by the veterinarian with zero experience with whales, but willing to try common sense things, helped more than the previous experts.
Valuable_K@reddit
You claim the experts are worried they'll be proved wrong. They'll look bad if the whale is saved, because they predicted the worst.
But new experts continue to agree with them.
Today, Peter Teglberg Madsen, a whale researcher and professor at Aarhus University, went on the record to call the operation "animal cruelty, plain and simple."
PartyPorpoise@reddit
Yeah I’m not gonna get my hopes up just yet.
ViolentLoss@reddit
Fingers crossed - life wants to live!
iKruppe@reddit
Any proof that "he's not sick and dying"? For all we know the moment they release him he succumbs due to the stress of this whole clown show and we've just made his ending worse...
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
His skin is healing. He is breathing normally again. He seems alert, watching the rescuers. He swims. He vocalises. He is actively cooperating with the rescue, swam into the barge, presents his fins for rubs.
That said, he has not eaten; he is showing zero interest in leaving the boat; and he keeps resting on a pile of sand.
I know they can fast for ages, but I would try harder to feed him.
And keep the barge there. I think there is a high chance that he will return to it to rest, or else drown. He is getting better, and he can swim, but I doubt he can swim 24/7 again already.
iKruppe@reddit
Also I checked the live tracker thing and just as an aside, the anthropomorphising going on there.... don't like it. I don't know if the people doing it are vets (very bad) or just the donors (still bad but eh ignorance).
iKruppe@reddit
Will they keep tracking him after release? They should, because active treatment might make the symptoms less severe (and thus superficial improvement can occur) but if there are underlying issues he might just succumb because - for example - swimming on his own in the Atlantic might just be too exhausting. Good that he's showing improvements but an animal that has no interest in eating is often not a good sign.
Not gonna lie, there's a very tiny, small dark part of me that kind of maybe sort of wishes this goes wrong so people learn that intervening is not always in the best interest, and Timmy actually living might undermine that generally true statement such that people might misguidedly try to do the same for other animals and harm themselves or the animal. But at this stage the barge is there, the whale is in it, so might as well just hope for Timmy that indeed the initial assessments were wrong and it all gets a happy ending, we need one of those these days.
Hot-Caregiver-4634@reddit
Literal quote from his veterinarian
iKruppe@reddit
Would that be the same vet who left the team because the team was being reckless making decisions that could hurt the animal?
Hot-Caregiver-4634@reddit
no
iKruppe@reddit
Sauce?
Hot-Caregiver-4634@reddit
Search for Jenna Wallace, she has said those multiple times
Gramposity@reddit
Also do some searches on other incidents she has been involved in and how she places activism over recognized standards of care.
iKruppe@reddit
https://www.theanimalreader.com/2026/04/24/american-vet-leaves-stranded-whale-rescue-in-germany-criticises-team-and-officials/
That's literary the vet that left the team though
Hot-Caregiver-4634@reddit
Its not, she is literally on the boat with Timmy right now. There are multiple vets.
iKruppe@reddit
"In a press conference on Friday, German veterinarian Kirsten Tönnies, who recently joined the team, said they are trying to take a blood sample from Timmy, but so far without success. The whale has received some fluids, but not enough". - the new vet (who has a practise that caters small animals it seems, not whales) who joined after said that no blood sample had been taken when she joined.
Ronocosaurus@reddit
Hopefully it dies soon. A lot of ignorant far-right scumbags behind the continued torture of this animal.
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
I hate the AfD, too, but I don't get why this extends to wanting the poor whale to die.
mylittlejourney99@reddit
Exactly ✨. But hey it works. You have people here in the comments saying: "I'm soooo thankfull...". That's exactly what they want from the situation.
saja456@reddit
Because well good pictures are the only thing that matters. The far-right know it and use it. The people just follow.
Icy-Progress8829@reddit
What is this vessel they have him in? Can this be recreated for other rescues?
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
It is usually used to transport ships. It effectively operates like a pool with an open end so he could swim in, then the bottom can be lifted or dropped to change water height.
Keep in mind this only worked cause the whale willingly swam inside, and has been happy to stay. Aka he is at this point calm and understands he is being rescued, after humans have been systematically aiding him for weeks and he is very tired. This would not work with a confused panicked whale.
Chevscheelios@reddit
German engineering for transporting ships that weigh several hundred tons. It can be used in very shallow water — I’ve read as little as 20 cm, which is hard to believe. On the sides, there are structures installed that provide buoyancy.
Icy-Variation6614@reddit
As someone up thread said, it's a football pitch. (jk)
It's some kind of barge.
tdtd225@reddit
I have three questions; I hope someone can help me:
Have the rescuers been able to remove the net from the whale’s mouth yet?
Since the whale had been stranded for several weeks, I wanted to know how long a whale of this size can go without food? Can the whale be fed during the journey, or can a whale go without food for such a long time?
The whale’s skin has been damaged by the sun. Can it recover from this and return to a normal life?
Niesel187@reddit
They looked into his mouth several times and even did an endoscopy, initially he still had slight remnants in his baleen, and there was no net at the last examination.
He was extremely well fed, several veterinarians said that such a fit whale could live without food for 6 months. Its pretty normal for humpbackwhales. Humpback whales eat only during the summer months, in winter they rarely eat at all. Since it is a young bull, he is even more hardened than older whales.
His skin has already improved tremendously! He has been regularly irrigated for a long time, has received bandages that were soaked in water with special salt content (which he actually needed), and he has intensively received a special harmless zinc ointment .
Polly_der_Papagei@reddit
Can you share a link on the endoscopy? I thought it was still unknown if there was a remaining net fragment.
And I thought they fast in winter - shouldn't he have been eating again for a month? And by implication, doesn't this mean he likely hasn't eaten in six months at this point?
So glad they did the common sense skin treatment I had in mind, it looks so much better now, and he is now in salt water, and they heal it so well.
Gramposity@reddit
No, net remains entangled in its baleen and it has possibly swallowed some. This can cause multiple problems.
Mysticietes have evolved for log periods of fasting. However, this is a juvenile and we are entering the northern hemisphere feeding season. It should be chowing down now,
I’m not aware of either a comprehensive assessment of the skin damage of this particular animal. However, excessive skin damage can lead to depressed immune response, osmotic issues (which have been already compromised by the long term exposure to much less saline water in the Baltic Sea than it is used to), and circulatory issues. Although we haven’t been able to quantify the extent of any of these factors, the fact that they’ve been going on for multiple weeks seriously implies that the animal is severely compromised and its long term chances of survival are low. ALL of the researchers, stranding response coordinators, and whale entanglement experts I’m acquainted with put its odds of survival in the near term after release as very low.
Niesel187@reddit
Most experts thought he wouldn't stay alive such a long time as well. It's a very rare case, just stop spreading the word of people, that have not seen him face2face.
Gramposity@reddit
Please show us where they made a prediction of how long the whale had to live. They did say that it was likely to die. They are still saying that. Given everything that it has been through, this is a very reasonable assumption. Researchers from both ITAW and the Deutsches Meersmuseum were on-site and examined the animal. They came to the same conclusion. If you are concerned about people making judgements before the see the animal, then you must disagree with what all of the statements Janine Bahr made about the whale's chances before she got there.
Disney685@reddit
Tja, selber googeln wäre auch eine Möglichkeit…
ElPresidentele@reddit
More then 1000 People died this winter in the mediteraren sea, and Germany stopped funding sea rescuing. So i I could not care less for this Whale. Let him die and use the Money to rescue Humans... P.s. how many cows, chicken and pigs did we killed since this whale stranded?
kitnzkat@reddit
I mean, should you not spend money saving a pet you care about because you could give it to a child who needs surgery instead? We're not robots, we get attached to specific animals. Someone who shoves beef in their mouth 24/7 might still root for a cow that escapes a slaughterhouse.
We're animals too and part of what makes us human is being sentimental.
ElPresidentele@reddit
Yeah what about my first sentence?
opelan@reddit
The German state is not funding this rescue, so why does this matter?
Two multimillionaires are paying for this. And when it comes to super rich people, I think this is a better use of their money than buying expensive sports cars, house number 10, yachts, diamonds, etc.
Kahikenn@reddit
Sollte man, aber bevor dein Hund gerettet wird, sollte das Geld für deine Oma genutzt werden.
energyconcious@reddit
It’s sickening to see all this shitty humans with their negative thoughts that they live and portrait to the rest of the world. If humans were so important, when the universe was created it would have created humans first, but guess what it didn’t. The first cell was a unicellular cell a type of animal organism that evolved and created animals first. You needed this animal to become who you are today, yet people think animals are worthless. You are worthless , all of us are worthless without animals there would be no US , why is that so hard to understand? What in your brain doesn’t let you comprehend ? The life of Timmy doesn’t have any comparison that money can pay. Timmy’s life should not be political but like always humans just care about themselves. Timmys specie has only 280 whales left in the entire planet , can you not understand that? Whales are fertilizers for the oceans , they actually do something to benefit this planet in comparison to any humans , all we do is take and take , but they provide. All animals provide health and life for this planet and if you don’t believe it why not just pick a book this information is available to all , learn so you don’t live in a fantasy land causing harm to others in the way. Whatever the outcome for Timmy is only the universe will decide , why speculate so much ? If you were in need wouldn’t you want someone to help you? Even if you’re dying? I’m sure the answer would be yes. Timmy deserves to be helped , he deserve to be cared and loved anyone who has own a pet knows animals are intelligent, they didn’t survive 5 extinctions if they weren’t. Animals will survived a 6th extinction when our end comes as the way humans are behaving we are heading toward that very sooner than it was anticipated. When you understand the principles of energy in the universe it’s what governs everything from galaxies, planets , starts black wholes etc, energy is what is driving this planet forces , the energy exchange between all living organisms. Your emotions of anger and frustration are only toning to your life , so please stop with the ignorance. If you don’t agree with the rescue of Timmy move on and keep your comments to yourself instead. And let the rest of the world who truly cares for this soul to continue a good deed regardless of the outcome Timmy deserved to be rescued. He will prove all of you wrong , because animals don’t give up, their souls are not full of fear like you do. Timmy will survive !
Tiny_Garlic5966@reddit
Can somebody tell me anything about the sea vessel they are using to transport? I'd like to know more
Atmisbir@reddit
What a waste of money and resources
RegisteredOnToilet@reddit (OP)
This is paid for by 2millionaire Investors with their own money and 100+ volunteers.
I am glad there are still way more people in this world that dont see something like this as a waste of money and people like you are the minority.
MsBuzzkillington83@reddit
Also, they said they couldn't safely get close enough to euthanize him weeks ago, how the fuck did they get an endoscope into his throat to check for the net?!
MsBuzzkillington83@reddit
But the whale has not swam away to safety, there's conflicting reports about the fishing net in his throat, any sources saying it was removed have been from social media like Facebook, Reddit and Instagram
No official news sources have stated that his throat is clear
Why don't u wait a month to know before that he won't beach himself to celebrate?
Kahikenn@reddit
Wo sind eigentlich diese Milliardäre und freiwilligen Helfe wenn es um die ganzen ertrunkenen im Mittelmeer geht?
littlebylittlewefall@reddit
I needed this feel good news today. 🥹
MsBuzzkillington83@reddit
It won't be good news until we know he's not going to beach himself again
kamalamading@reddit
Its insane that we interfere in such a way with nature, let alone pay lots of money for this interference.
kitnzkat@reddit
You mean how we interfered in the first place by getting him stuck in fishing nets?
kamalamading@reddit
That too but the whale beached multiple times. Its the course of life, organisms die. Let it happen.
It’s completely insane to put such an effort into a single whale. It doesn’t change anything, is a waste of resources, and is mostly done so the people associated with it can feel good about themselves.
Those resources would have been much more useful if used for something broader, like cleaning oil out of the sea, saving some rainforest. Instead we save a whale, pat ourselves on the back but don’t charge shit.
Plus, circle of life, beached whale is food for other animals.
I wouldn’t be surprised id the whale would be back to die in a few weeks. Maybe it also has developed behavioral anomalies since it had people and machines around it for days, not knowing what’s up.
MsBuzzkillington83@reddit
I mean, if it was another whale that was more endangered I'd say it may be worth it but humpback whales aren't critically endangered
JapaneseBeekeeper@reddit
He is all ready dead, but nobody believes me.
There is a fishernet in his mouth. Anybody knows how much of it is in his stomach. 1 meter, 5 meter, 8 meter???
There is a rope around his neck since his childhood. He became bigger, the rope grew into his skin.
Please excuse my English. We can switch to German if you want to.
CilantroHats@reddit
It has been confirmed to not be in his mouth anymore. Doesn't mean he will survive though. His throat is tiny. It's unlikely any is in his belly
MsBuzzkillington83@reddit
Really? What news source did u read it in? I was trying to find info on that just a few days ago. I feel like they would have mentioned that it was removed because that seems like a big deal
This is all weird, they're acting like this is a huge success when there's no detail of him actually swimming away into the ocean successfully and not beaching himself again
B4tz_Bentzer@reddit
Man, now I wish I had been emotionally invested in that situation
CilantroHats@reddit
Really you don't. It was a hard watch. I know some of the people involved and it was a cluster fuck. I just hope it isn't too late.
GerRazerXxx@reddit
Endet die Qual , Sprengt den Wahl
boehmei007@reddit
Lass das Hirn nicht verwesen, geh den Duden lesen
GerRazerXxx@reddit
WeR Nichts Kanne kann Rechtschreibung 😆
prunus_cerasifera@reddit
fuck greenpeace!!!!
Vowoidsterr@reddit
If you read about the kinda people who showed up to "help" this whale, you wouldnt be saying that. Although im starting to think you just might get along with the nutcases this whale attracted.
Ill be surprised if the whale lives more than a couple days. Hes weak and previously injured, now they are transporting him through busy seas in a non-sound proof container, that will probably stress him and may hurt him even more. He will have no idea where he is and no group to follow. Congrats.
kitnzkat@reddit
Everyone is a nutcase on both sides of this. On one side you have people believing they get telepathic messages from him, on the other, half the comments on this post are psychotic and saying things like “hope he suffers on his way out” wtf is going on over there?
Vowoidsterr@reddit
i know right 😭
VeloIlluminati@reddit
I could not believe my eyes! This made me so happy and am following the stream for a while now.
I was looking for who was resposible for this rescue. Can you provide more info about the new formed team of experts? Thx
Gramposity@reddit
Here are the three statements from the International Whaling Commission Strandings Expert Panel:
https://iwc.int/resources/news/iwc-strandings-expert-panel-statement-on-humpback-whale-baltic-sea-germany
https://iwc.int/resources/news/further-statement-of-iwc-strandings-expert-panel-on-humpback-whale-germany
https://iwc.int/resources/news/third-statement-of-the-iwc-strandings-expert-panel-humpback-whale-stranding
Alexinwonderland25@reddit
Thank you for posting this all of these people coming from an extremely emotional place saying that they're doing the right thing for this whale and that he's going to survive when it is unlikely and he's most likely suffering from the sound from the boats as well as will likely drown from exhaustion.
Gramposity@reddit
Truth. The sad thing is that I bet very few people here actually read them or get the shear magnitude of expertise and time in the field that is behind them. These statements easily represent > 99 % of the people alive today who deal with stranded large whales on a regular basis. Yet so many here want to listen to the handful of others who say this whale can survive.
It’s so hard for people to be open to facts that are contrary to their belief. We will contort ourselves and rationalize like crazy just to hold on to an idea.
Orlina1996@reddit
Hi 👋 how's it going?
RegisteredOnToilet@reddit (OP)
Yes it made so many people happy!
It was such a relief when they said they wont let him die they will rescue him, screw the experts to lazy to rescue!
I was so depressed watching the livestream of the whale all the time, seeing how he is fighting, crying and all alone sentenced to a slow and cruel death.
The Newschannel "News5" played a big role beeing live 24Hours and showing the goverment videos of him beeing active, fighting and everyone seeing it( expert said he is not responding, barely breathing and showing no movements - on stream everyone could see the lies)
Here is the List of the Experts and Investors
Dr. Jenna Wallace (USA – Hawaii) – marine mammal veterinarian, leads medical stabilization of the whale. She was only barely at the whale but called him Healthy, she is still in the Team and advicing from remote.
Jeffrey Foster (USA) – former Keiko/Free Willy project research lead, great whale rescue experience
Michael Partica (USA) – cetacean behavior specialist, Keiko rehabilitation background
Kyra Wadsworth (USA / New Zealand connection) – marine animal caretaker, hands-on whale support experience
Charles Vinick (USA) – Keiko Project coordinator, large-scale whale rescue operations advisor
Karin Walter-Mommert (Germany) – private investor, financed and enabled international rescue effort
Walter Gunz (Germany) – private investor, co-funded mission and logistics
Additional experts (Norway, Iceland, international) – specialized whale biologists and stranding response teams (names not publicly disclosed)
NSASpyVan@reddit
Why and how did it take them 25 days to rescue this poor fella? Shoulda been much quicker.
laurique1@reddit
Honestly, the situation with Timmy was way more complicated than people think. Whales aren’t exactly common in Germany, so they had to bring in specialized experts and equipment before they could even attempt a rescue. There were also some coordination issues with the expert teams, which caused additional delays. On top of that, Timmy was tangled up in ghost nets, which made everything a lot riskier and harder to handle. You can’t just rush in and cut him free without a solid plan, or you might make things worse. Add to that the weather, water conditions, and the fact that the whale is constantly moving, and it’s pretty obvious why this wasn’t something that could be done immediately. It also didn’t help that the whole situation became kind of politicized, and saving a single whale like this is really expensive, the current rescue mission is now being funded by private sponsors.
But in the end, they actually managed to rescue him, which is what matters.
Casp512@reddit
The whale is not yet rescued. Only once it's in the Atlantic, doesn't get stranded anymore and is fully healthy will it be rescued. Which many experts say is extremely unlikely.
Alexinwonderland25@reddit
He will likely drown I am curious to know if they are putting tracking on him after the release I worry if they do it in deep waters and he becomes to exhausted he will have no where to rest and will drown. Which is a worse fate imo than dying peacefully on a sandbar
kitnzkat@reddit
Drowning wouldn’t be as bad as baking in the sun with crushed organs and a skin condition already all over his back. They weren’t going to euthanize him unfortunately. He could languish in agony for weeks.
TzarCoal@reddit
The Whale is now traversing the Kattegat which is the strait connecting the Baltic Sea to the North Sea. The northern North Sea / Norwegian Sea would be a suitable spot for release of the whale.
Regarding its health...that is a valid point, i have no idea how healthy the whale is overall.
RegisteredOnToilet@reddit (OP)
Because Greenpeace and the first experts said we should let him die without interuption anything else would be cruel....
Not doing anything for 20+ days and seeing him cry for help and beeing in pain by the sun and nothing beeing done about it was cruel. They even rejected taking him out, they wanted to let him die there in weeks or month without beeing able to move
saja456@reddit
Wrong they rescued him 2 times and the first thing timmy does is to strand again. Even the people now rescued him already and he stranded agian.
Vermehrungsmaterial@reddit
Let him die would be cruel. But the rescue itself is a last straw too..
Whale has a skindesease, a damaged heart, potentially now permanent orientationproblems due to the constant engine noise.
The rescue was a shitshow. The authorities had no clue. The researchers had no clue, the wild life influencer had no clue. The rescue team at least had a plan. I was not following it, frequently, I just updated myself from time to time. And it was just crazy. I Hope the whale survives but the level of insane craziness this had as a cause. Like a collective psychosis, from people swimming to the whale believing to be able to communicate with him to influences making a full on documentary of it with them self as the main character featuring a dying whale...
Curious-Basket-7934@reddit
I think both Greenpeace and PETA have been infiltrated from the inside.
Animal Ag is powerful, with bottomless wallets. They are constantly getting laws passed making them even more powerful, as well as getting taxpayer dollars to subsidize their already billion dollar profits.
VyaNC@reddit
There were several rescue attempts, but the whale got stranded again and again. In most cases, stranded whales cannot be rescued as they are already too weak, too sick. It is not certain that the whale will survive at all.
Big-Condition-8592@reddit
It is so wild to me how entitled americans can be. Freakin ridiculous! Humanity has been destroying their Habitat for centuries and not giving any fucks about changing that in the future. On the other hand those so called experts are coming to germany after being called by some right-wing activists eating Fischbrötchen while disturbing an old whale coming to the beach to die in peace is super wild. All that happening while the worlds ecosystems being destroyed beyond repair.
asey_69@reddit
Here we see a miserable redditor in their natural habitat
mymindisa_@reddit
I'd like to add that there has been a lot of praise for the DLRG (German Live Saving Association, the largest voluntary live saving association world wide) too. They have been present for two weeks now and it has been reported that they brought a lot of structure to the undertaking.
RegisteredOnToilet@reddit (OP)
Real heroes in all of this.
Kinkystormtrooper@reddit
The experts said he beached himself to die and at this point it's cruelty to try to save him anymore.
Majestic-Thanks2880@reddit
Charles Vinick is a terrible human being. He’s been at the head of the whale sanctuary project for years collecting a salary doing nothing !!! If he had anything positive to contribute here I’d a along time coming Very happy it worked out but this reads like a who’s who of annoying money grubbing whale people
ViolentLoss@reddit
I love these investors so much!
_haystacks_@reddit
The world feels so grim these days, but then you remember that people band together to do things like this, and that’s beautiful!
Kalimtem@reddit
Should have been killed. So much Money for a dumb animal.
kitnzkat@reddit
I agree he should have been euthanized but there are so many psychotic comments like this, you can’t be surprised the public’s reaction has been a collective “what the actual fuck”
Winter-Warlock8954@reddit
The IWC - international whale-murder coalition said saving the whale is a waste... a strong lesson in how to take advice.
Biofelip@reddit
I don't agree with the IWC in a lot of things, but you really are an example of the kind misinformed discourse that has surrounded this whole matter. The IWC was the organization that coordinated and enacted the moratorium in commercial whaling that is allowing humpbacks and other whales to recover. In 2018 they changed their focus to conservation, and its also the only body pressuring whaling countries like Denmark, Norway and Japan to eliminate and if not reduce and control their commercial whaling quotas. There is a reason why all the whaling countries have left or threatened to leave the IWC.
Winter-Warlock8954@reddit
Convince me you're not paid by the IWC.
Gramposity@reddit
Should we also try to convince you that aliens haven’t landed?
The description of the recent history of the IWC is accurate. You can verify it in many ways - IWC meeting reports, numerous news stories, etc.
Winter-Warlock8954@reddit
That mentality is the reason the aliens haven't landed.
Gramposity@reddit
Next time you have a cavity, please take advice from YouTubers, TikTokers, and politicians. Definitely don’t listen to dentists. What do they know?
Winter-Warlock8954@reddit
Um... you don't know about dentists? I know some sketchy dentists.
Gramposity@reddit
The extreme case doesn’t prove a point. I’ve met sketchy dentists too. But, if I have something wrong with my teeth, I’m going to an expert tooth person first. Most dentists know what they are doing. Most whale biologists do too. The people working on the rescue of this whale have chosen to ignore the majority of whale biologists and listen to the extreme voices. That makes no sense.
Winter-Warlock8954@reddit
But other experts worked in with dieting opinions.
Winter-Warlock8954@reddit
Weighed in with differing opinions...
Gramposity@reddit
Other people weighed in, not necessarily experts. If you have a majority of people who have experience in a field having one opinion, and a few others have a completely different opinion, you have to ask why they have broken from the pack. What information do they have that is significantly different? What is their motivation to be different? If they are going in a completely different direction, their evidence should be very compelling ("extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence").
Although we like to root for the underdogs and it is really hard to root against them when their opinion matches our own, it is very rare in cases like this that they are actually correct.
Winter-Warlock8954@reddit
One was a Hawaiian whale veterinarian.
Gramposity@reddit
...who has a history of controversial treatments, violations of standards of care, and disregard for regulations. She is also known for grandstanding.
Disney685@reddit
Gründliche Information wäre angebracht, was diese Walfangkommision eigentlich macht.
DeepBlackSoul@reddit
Germans are not used to see guess go home again. Farewell Timmy
Vettkja@reddit
What?
tired-pigeon_@reddit
That ship is from where I live! So happy they finally figured it out. The whole situation was horrendous.
Kitchen_Doughnut0@reddit
Amazing! proceeds to eat other sentient marine life caught in giant nets with all kinds of bycatch, none of which deserved to die, including the fish aimed for.
Jokes aside, obviously this is amazing news. Especially for Timmy. But please do question your eating habits if you care about marine life. Or any animal for that matter.
Badassdinosaur5@reddit
His name is hope.
Radioactivetruck@reddit
Merz was just mad that the Whale only lied around and didnt work a 40h week
Ponytimeispoopytime@reddit
I think Merz loved him for distracting the general public from the continued diminishment of social security systems and workers' rights
Germanikuz@reddit
Ihr habt doch einen Sockenschuss.Für das Blöde Vieh so viel geld zu Verbrennen.Öko fritzen....Baumknuddler😅🤣
RegisteredOnToilet@reddit (OP)
Sollen wir bei dir die Behandlung auch sein lassen wenn du oder deine Frau/Kinder an heilbaren Krebs erkranken?
Brave-Leather4219@reddit
Endet die Qual, sprengt den Wal!
lewittman@reddit
I think so. (also highly doubt this person is married or has ever had the opportunity to be in a position to procreate.
Cha05gamer1@reddit
And again people ignore the opinions of the real experts including the people from SeaShepard that earlier (tried to) removed some of the net that is stuck in his mouth. These experts saw no real chance for him to survive the rescue mission, which is why the rescue missions that were coordinated by the state have been dropped. This rescue mission now is financed by a german millionaire and a billionaire which is also very activ in equestrian sport, which is always very highly praised for it's focus on animal welfare and has no reputation for animal abuse /s.... There are also a few so called "activists" that are part of this rescue mission now, that are supporters of the extreme right wing party called AfD. They have no know-how and even sabotaged an earlier attempt to guide the wale out of the bay caused by their incompetence. This made on of the new experts for this initiative quit. Only a few days after they were flown in from Hawaii 😂. Over all it can be said that this is another case of „Us people against the big bad state!“ 🤡, and a big shitshow where the well-being of this animal is only superficial for most activists.
Disney685@reddit
Endlich ein intelligenter Beitrag.
Firm_Caregiver_4563@reddit
Experts are already sounding the alarm - chances are high the animal will still die, just in another place.
TheTayIor@reddit
This animal should have died weeks ago, but thanks to the dragged out suffering story german politicians had a great smokescreen to push through more ghoulish legislation such as enshittening the healthcare system, while all you‘d see on the front pages was another oh-so-important whale update.
RhinestoneRancher@reddit
Timmy really took one look at the German bureaucracy and decided the open ocean was a safer bet. Glad he’s finally getting his ‘Atlantic Dream’ back.
SilkySifaka@reddit
Even if the worst happened and the journey was to much it will still have been worth the effort rather than him dying a slow death where he was Now he is swimming freely albeit not free but there is water all around him and he is in his natural element
searingsky@reddit
Look I love whales as much as the next guy, I'm also not a vegan but do think its morally wrong not to be.
This rescue killed an obscene amount of animals compared to the one they saved.
Gramposity@reddit
I can't take credit for this analogy, but it is a good one. Imagine having your eyelids held open for four weeks and someone continuously shining a massive light into them (all of the noise of the diggers and boats have been causing this animal similar acoustic trauma). While they are doing this, you are having a drip of pure water (not saline solution) being delivered by an IV into your veins. People are pushing and shoving you. You've also partially swallowed a string which is wound around your teeth, dangling in your throat and stomach. Finally, for the most of that time, your back has been exposed to the sun and your skin is flaking off. Yes, this animal is suffering. The attempts to save it have made it suffer considerably more. If this was your dog, you would not have put it through this, just so they can die later in their "natural element".
Hot-Caregiver-4634@reddit
So I think you are very happy right now knowing that he is in deep sleep for the first time in 45 days?
Orlina1996@reddit
Hey what are you up to?
Gramposity@reddit
I'm not sure what you mean by "deep sleep".
I am happy that the animal is no longer stranded and in all of the discomfort that that ordeal entailed. I wish it the best outcome, but I'm also realistic that the prognosis is not good.
Bangbangletmeout@reddit
Exactly! Remaining stranded was certain death. Maybe he still won't make it, but at least he hopefully has a chance.
omega_Fi@reddit
Till Backhaus isn’t a hero as you describe him here. He effectively blocked rescue attempts and made it harder for the involved people who really wanted to help the whale.
After successfully participating in failing he lied in television to make it look like the helping people were the problem. So the only thing he is good at is being a classic politician.
I’m glad Timmy made it out alive but that whole thing was a political shitshow and showed how miserable humans can be.
RipvanHahl@reddit
the real shitty thing is people still dragging him around the baltic sea, despite every expert not involved in this scam said it to be a bad idea
omega_Fi@reddit
It’s never about that whale unfortunately ..
Gramposity@reddit
All of the real researchers (IWC, ITAW, etc.) that have been advising against the rescue have clearly said that is not in the best interests of the whale to attempt a rescue and relocation. They do think about the animal's welfare first and foremost. The ones attempting the rescue have ignored them and added an untold amount of acoustic, physical, and physiological stress to a dying animal.
MostAssociate4149@reddit
Imagine making that much effort for a common mammal and slaughtering billions eveyday. Double standards
Kahikenn@reddit
Vergiss nicht die Menschen die täglich im Mittelmeer ertrinken.
Kahikenn@reddit
Wo sind eigentlich diese Milliardäre und freiwilligen Helfe wenn es um die ganzen ertrunkenen im Mittelmeer geht?
NaCl_Sailor@reddit
watch her get back in two weeks
SimonGray653@reddit
And of course there's a coin attached to it, because nothing says like I'm a piece of shit human being like how can I make money from this.
Also if anyone thinks that the money will be used as a donation to help other humpback whale recovery, then they should probably check their wallet because they just got scammed big-time.
RegisteredOnToilet@reddit (OP)
See him swim into his transport bed by himself. the Recue team digged that path for him
ItsPandy@reddit
Please try to not use Bild next time when linking a video
luke3209@reddit
i agree, fuck this paper.
brydeswhale@reddit
Been having a shitty few days. This is awesome, thanks.
joshireyn@reddit
You got no idea what this whale has done to german social media
Django2991@reddit
Lol more views from czechia as views from Germany :D
Gouda_Enthusiast@reddit
[ Removed by Reddit ]
RipvanHahl@reddit
watch him drown as soon as they release him into the open sea
Turbotyp1@reddit
Yeah cool you helped a whale, now please help the humans?
Jensje666@reddit
He had too much plankton and decided to check what all these U-boats are all about.
LeverageLuke@reddit
Endlich kann die Ukraine die neuen Torpedos testen!
StuhlImPool94@reddit
Was ein bullshit
RangeBoring1371@reddit
German Media and Reddit is completely filled with this for one month now, you get literally multiple daily post about the whale...
Max-Maulwurf@reddit
Fuck Timmy, I would like to have him blown up. How can people go so crazy over a dumb ass whale but eat animals every day??? Hypocritical.... They care more for a whale than the people and animals surrounding them. Not that I'm against the rescue but I think it's completely over hyped. I think we should care about every animal, the millions of pigs, chickens, cattle etc. Their suffering is disregarded. It won't to offend one who cares about animals in general. But in Germany there were a lot of crazy people that are very rude and nasty otherwise but seem to randomly care about a whale.
Junior_Shame8753@reddit
The truly sad part it's bout the needed private sponsors.
According_Store930@reddit
I don’t even understand how people can generally think something is impossible there is always a solution.
ludacris_6@reddit
Not every claimed expert is a real expert
brookhorst@reddit
Willing-Piece-8569@reddit
Huge waste of money, they should have just let him be
Dazzling_Mood2958@reddit
I guess it's just the kind of people who want's everyone else to be as miserable as themselves, eh?
WordCheap3882@reddit
While countless coes, sheep and chicken were slaughtered in the last months, we spend millions to save a suicidal whale. Hooray!
_J1ZZY@reddit
..over 750.000.000 animals were killed in this short amount if time.
Subject_Slice_7797@reddit
For me, the worse thing is, that the financiers of the whole thing obviously had the millions of euros just lying around, but never thought to spend them on something like feeding poor kids at school or supporting families in need, or some other altruistic cause. But some half dead whale is worth it?
DullAdvantage7647@reddit
He might have a disfunctional colon according to the latest German News and might not survive after all.
queer-ernie@reddit
There are thousands of people dying all the time in the mediterranean sea but all they caare about is a whale. None of the people who dies ever got so much attention. I am not saying the whale should not have been saved but its so hypocritical that suddelny they have the money to do sth like this but not rescue any of the people who are dying because they are fleeing war/hunger/other political conflict/etc. and searching for refuge!
Puzzleheaded-Law8114@reddit
He is not rescued yet. They just move him. Chances are high that he is sick and just tried to rest on those banks, so he wouldn‘t drown. He might go down like stone.
konst1@reddit
He gotta tell his friends some crazy stories when he’s back. They probably won‘t believe
JohnR1977@reddit
there no future for these animals. the oceans are getting deadlier by the day.
Buttercup3388@reddit
The news said the whale had some parts of fish netting in its mouth and couldn't be removed..is it true?
mylittlejourney99@reddit
The original team of rescuers all left. Cause the whale is way to weak now after all the stupid stuff that has been going on. This team of rescuers now is only there for publicity. One of the people involved is a right wing extremist, one is the owner of a horse racing circle (where they literally shoot horses on the field the moment they break a leg) and one is a politician who sees this as a tool to boost his votes in this years upcoming state elections. They are all there for personal reasons to gain publicity and profit from being involved. Nobody truly cares about the whale anymore.
And everyone who is saying: "yeah but at least they do something". If you know whales, you know they need to have strength to stay above water to breath. He won't survive for more than a day in deep water.
9mackenzie@reddit
Horses can’t survive compound fractures in their legs, it’s horribly cruel to even attempt it. It’s horrifically painful, and shooting them as quickly as you can is actually the kindest thing you could do. Waiting for a vet to try to inject enough sedatives on a flailing horse to get it to calm down enough to insert an IV line for the euthanasia meds is not the better option.
MarioMilieu@reddit
Do you see any connection here?
Vowoidsterr@reddit
Their point was about the irony of someone ""caring"" about the whale while also doing horse racing for profit and having no problem with discarding the animal once it becomes useless (be that a broken leg or just old age or whatever else)
mylittlejourney99@reddit
Honestly that's not the point I was coming from. I do know that if a horse breaks a leg, it will never fully function again. My comment was more about the sport in a whole. It's animal abuse where they only have a value as long as they perform well.
HuntingDog_Skaface@reddit
This needs so much more attention in the international discussion. It‘s more about politics than anything else.
mylittlejourney99@reddit
And it perfectly shows a big German problem. People in authoritarian positions value their own opinion and the law more than a higher qualified individual or the animal itself. If your opinion differs from the person in authority or if it is not in line with the law (but would actually help in the situation cause the law isn't made for a situation like that) you will have absolute no influence on improving the situation. Idk how to explain it better in English.
itsnoli@reddit
Finally, some good news in the world.
Kosmischer_Kohl@reddit
While it seems like a feel-good story it was likely a huge waste of money, additional torture for the whale and makes 0% from a conservationist point of view as these whales are not endangered and fairly common.
One_red_boot@reddit
I haven’t felt this fulfilled by human intervention in many, many years. Thank you to everyone who made the enormous effort to help this whale. Sincerely I thank you.
chrisjvandb@reddit
We call it Timmy Derangement Syndrome.
Nefarious-Catfood-69@reddit
He's gonna be back in a week
Far-Warning-1702@reddit
Thank you for whose ppl how participated in this operation and big thank you for investors. This whale is very strong and I hope he will survive
AdhesivenessOk3195@reddit
Heros 👊🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌❤️
Firm-Cricket7670@reddit
Glad they are feeding Timmy!
ddllbb@reddit
Leelu and Fry forever.
fierox88@reddit
I guess it might take weeks until we really know if the rescue worked out. But happy to see them try! Hopefully it all works out and even if Timmy won't make it they will learn a lot from the process and what happens after. Someting that might be very valuable the next time something like this happens.
guiltywaffles@reddit
Yay!
felipethomas@reddit
Did anyone else see the whale in an enclosed floating football pitch in this photo?
Icy-Variation6614@reddit
I see that now you have mentioned it
ExaminationSmall6599@reddit
Thank you
FUDintheNUD@reddit
Reminds me of the episode of southpark where the kids strive to save the whale and send it to the moon.
GetEatenByAMouse@reddit
The fact that the actual fact that this animal was slowly dying in distress was not the biggest drama about this all is wild.
I hope this poor thing can find it's way back into life and be well.
SnooChickens7990@reddit
This made my day! ❤️
ishey@reddit
God bless Timmy & God bless us, everyone!
Known-Programmer-611@reddit
The world needs more good news like this God speed Timmy!
topazco@reddit
“The see was angry that day my friends”
strombolihoe@reddit
where was he stranded and how did he get there?
RegisteredOnToilet@reddit (OP)
Baltic sea at the coast of Germany.
Official goverment explanation is, that he followed a herring currents into the Baltic sea, became disoriented there due to the difficult and shallow conditions for humpback whales, water has a lot less salt and they dont live here ,and than he stranded for the first time there 38 days ago, remained stuck for 3 days at the first spot, and then stranded again because the entire area is full of shallow water and sandbanks and the first expert team had no experience in guiding of a Whale and made huge mistakes.