The famous whale Timmy is confirmed dead in Denmark.

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Gramposity@reddit

Where is the apology from Robert Marc Lehmann, all of his followers, and the RML-like people who pushed for this whale to be tortured and moved? Do we collectively learn anything from this?

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he gave the whale 0.1% from the start and said it openly and we dont know if he was allowed to guide the whale back the first time if the whale maybe than survived he also said they need to remove the net in is mouth so what does he has to apolgies for?

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

I really would like to see how he calculated this probability.

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Excellent-News4673@reddit

He saw the whale up close that he had a net in his mouth and saw how bad the helper are so he said that he survives is low

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Biofelip@reddit

Are you for real? He was the one who stirred public opinion against the decision of not bothering the whale anymore. Only because the experts were clear about how abhorrent it was that he was using the whale for social media clout and asked him either to stop or to leave (of course he chose to leave and play victim). And this whole thing about guiding the whale is just another one of his fake knowledge scams that followers like you eat up without questioning. Even himself said that guiding whales from small sand bays was possible but something as guiding a whale from the Baltic to the north sea was never possible.

He took every decision to make the whale suffering worse just to get better shots. He insisted on human contact with the whale event though experts say that it was just unnecessary stress for a debilitated animal, but mind you, when he finally did it, whatever contact with the whale had to be one handed because his other hand had to hold the selfie stick all the time.

And now even after this awful torture that people call "rescue attempt" had finished, when the experts of the meersmuseum said CORRECTLY that the whale had almost certainly died, he made fun of them on social media calling them fake.

People like you gave a voice and influence to scammers like this dude and keep defending him. For what is worth, the agonizing and anguishing death that this poor animal almost certainly had stain his hands and that of all his followers.

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Excellent-News4673@reddit

U just belive what stupid politic ppl say so sad man

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

If he had been moved earlier, he would probably have had a better chance of survival.

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Gramposity@reddit

What information are you using to make that assessment? Especially in light of the host of people who have collective decades of experience and said after the first stranding that this whale was very unlikely to survive and was best left to die in peace. What information/experience do you have that they didn't?

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

It was indeed unlikely, but not impossible. This whale beat all odds. He lived far longer than anyone predicted. This stranding case is not comparable to strandings in which whales laid on solid sand. The whale was expected to die a lot earlier. He would probably have died due to starvation or overheating in this place. Would you really call this a peaceful death? Now, he swam for another 10 days if the information provided is correct. He beat the odds another time. You would have expected a far earlier death if he really had stranded due to weakness. Unfortunately, he couldn‘t beat the odds for a third time.

I always wonder why so many measures are taken when trying to save humans. Why don‘t we use the same standards for other animals?

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Gramposity@reddit

Absolutely nobody predicted how long this whale would live. The stranding response folks only said that this whale was very unlikely to survive, was on its way to dying, and should be left to do so in peace. So there were no "odds" for it to beat. Where are you getting that from?

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

They absolutely did. Didn‘t you read the news? Once again: How would he have died in peace there? Is dying over the course of weeks without any relief a peaceful death?

The odds to beat were the time to survive for such an amount of time on a sandbar and his survival in open water.

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Gramposity@reddit

First, I have been following this story from the very beginning (before the whale stranded, when it was just sighted in the Baltic Sea) in both the English and German news. I know and have talked to colleagues who were on the scene at Timmendorfer Strand. I know that none of them said it would die in XX days. If you have a source where they (or any stranding response professional) said that, please present it and I will correct myself.

Secondly, given that there was nothing that could be done to euthanize, letting it die there is the most peaceful way. The presence of a lot of people with loud heavy machinery definitely causes tons of stress. Jostling and trying to move the whale causes stress. When the whale was "freed", it immediately stranded again. This process repeated itself with the addition of the whale being dragged by its flukes (a massive no-no). I and all of my colleagues that work on these animals see this as nothing more than animal abuse.

We're also shocked and dismayed that the general public can't see that.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

They said it might take 5 days to several weeks. (Don’t know the source right now, but will append it later.) 4 weeks later, the whale didn‘t show many signs of progression of his condition despite the stress it faced. It would have probably taken weeks or even months for it to die. There have been attempts to euthanise whales and some have been successful. Given the outlook of such a long torture, it might have been worth a try.

A whale doesn‘t have more than one fluke. I hope this is a typo! Pulling a whale by the fluke is indeed cruel and I don‘t support this in any way. If the whale had been transported more professionally, it might have turned out to be an interesting new approach to saving whales in difficult environments.

It was kind of naïve to believe that the whale had any chance of finding out of the baltic sea after wandering around there for so much time. I don‘t know how this could not be taken into consideration.

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Gramposity@reddit

Saying that it might take 5 days to several weeks is a way to express a large amount of uncertainty. It is in no way an exact prediction. Unless you are a vet with large whale assessment experience, I have no faith in your assessment that "it would have probably take weeks or even months for it die".

Your assessment of euthenasia being worth a try is wrong. Here is the British Divers Marine Life Rescue statement that does a very good job describing (among other things) why euthanizing this whale was not possible: https://bdmlr.org.uk/statement-stranded-humpback-whale-in-germany

You are also 100% incorrect that a whale doesn't have more than one fluke. Every cetacean has two flukes. Each lobe is one. Here is the Merriam-Webster definition: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fluke

There is a reason that whales aren't regularly transported like this. Its naïve to think that people who have been responding to large whale strandings on a regular basis and have only the best intentions for the welfare of these animals were opposed to this whole process and yet it was somehow a good idea.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

Of course, this is not an exact prediction, but it shows that the whale was expected to die much earlier because it was expected to die due to pressure from his own weight what makes no sense given he was figuratively lying on a water bed. I don't know why this fact was not taken into consideration. You probably know that there are almost no vets with large whale assessment experience. And there is nobody in the world that can claim to have good knowledge about the pathophysiology of whales, since there is so little research. It's really almost like medicine in the Middle Ages. But just looking at the facts, did you observe any clear change of the vital signs of this animal? It was stated by the present veterinarians that he would likely continue to live for at least several weeks. But given the lack of data, literally nobody in the world can give a valid prediction.

I have read the statements on euthanasia. I know that there are few documented cases of doing so. But there have been successful attempts. It might have been worth a try. (https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national-guidelines-euthanasia-stranded-large-whales.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

I am sorry about my incorrect assumption concerning the naming of the whale's tail. I was under the impression that terminology was the same in English as in German, since I have never read flukes as a plural word in any text.

My point concerning the try was that such a mission has never been carried out before. Therefore, nobody could have really given a prediction of the likelihood of a success. I mean, if people in the past would have acted such risk-aversely, we wouldn't even be able to treat simple infections. I wonder how it would have turned out, if the mission had been started earlier. Of course, this approach is extremely risky. But if you never try it, you will never know what the chances of success are.

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Gramposity@reddit

Do you think that the whale

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

They are not exactly the kind of people who are willing to take a risk.

I have read the report and I haven't seen any references to cases that were comparable to the current one. I have also read about cases of whales that have stranded repeatedly. But things like the complex topography of this part of the Baltic Sea have not been taken into account, sufficiently, IMHO.
And I don't see how a veterinarian who has, to my knowledge, never worked with large cetaceans, can be called an expert in this very, very special case.

To compute a probability, it is necessary to have a large amount of data. It simply wasn't there. It's like basing medicine only on case reports, and not on double-blind studies. It's simply not a viable approach.

In my opinion, this whale should have been considered an emergency when it was observed for the first time in the beginning of March. That was the point in time when the whale had the most chances to survive. Maybe we can have a monitoring system for all whales in this area in the future. Maybe a guiding system may be employed in the future. I know that the success of such measures were limited in the past. But maybe, new methods can be developed. Given the regular strandings of dead baleen whales in this area, many whales seem to have suffered the same fate as the poor whale in this case. This might not be relevant when looking at from a conservation standpoint. But to these individuals, it makes a difference, just as medicine makes a difference to humans, even though it's really unnecessary from a conservation standpoint.

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Gramposity@reddit

"I have read the report..."

"I have also read about cases..."

"I don't see how..."

"In my opinion..."

All of these indicate that your sources for your opinion are based on your own internal interpretation of a limited number of things.

How do you know where on the Dunning Kruger curve you are?

Is what you know about this topic enough to trust the opinions you form? Is it enough to trust them more than people who have (again) devoted decades of work to this field?

What would it take for you to say, "Perhaps, if I am at odds with the experts in this field, I should learn more"?

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

Who has devoted decades of research to the pathophysiology of whales? Who has sufficient data to back up their statements? If there was sufficient evidence for their assessment, why are they so shy to bring up evidence for their claims?

I have never seen a valid backup for these statements.

And why do the responsible experts, who wrote the report, have expertise if they have never worked with stranded cetaceans? That really makes no sense to me.

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Gramposity@reddit

I know and have worked with several people who are experts on large whale pathophysiology. Stranding response teams and the vets that accompany them will reach out if they encounter something outside of their wheelhouse.

Just so we're talking about the same thing, which report are you refering to?

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Timey16@reddit

Absolutely all the experts said that the whale was dying either way and most likely INTENTIONALLY stranded itself on a sandbank so it can at least breathe easily during it's final days. The reason it was on the sandbanks was not because "it was lost" but because it no longer had the strength to swim for more than short bursts.

Absolutely everyone was in favor of letting the whale die peacefully: The Greens, Greenpeace, veterinarians, other wildlife protection NGOs, etc... all except a small hardcore core of "animal friends" (as in people with zero actual knowledge about animals, needlessly humanizing them) that believed they knew better than all the experts.

They then threatened down to sending threats to the state's minister of environment to bring him into compliance and let them do their attempt to "rescue" the already doomed whale. The politician also didn't really have anything to lose by letting them. so instead of banning their attempt and let the whale die in peace he let them pester the poor thing.

Naturally the "tracker" that they claimed to have installed never existed and if it did, was never actually suited for that purpose. They refused to publish any data of that tracker or even to televise the release of the whale... if it was the kind of success they claimed it was, then why didn't they make a big media show of it? Why was it all "hush hush" followed by a quick "it was released" message, but nothing else? They already knew the whale was essentially dead before they even released it.

And in a cursory look from the news 2 weeks ago about it's release, many people in this subreddit with zero background knowledge also celebrated it. This should be a big red notice to you to sit down and contemplate about how much of a whale friend you really are. I am enough of an animal friend to know: while they are not automata and have complete inner lives... animals are not humans. They are animals. Even spending all your lives next to them you will never be able to truly comprehend how they actually tick. We understand domesticated animals because we spent millennia making sure they understand us. But this does not apply to undomesticated ones. So I'd never actually dare of myself to claim that I know what the needs and wants of a wild animal are. And when in doubt, I'd rather let nature take it's course.

The whole Timmy debacle really summarizes the state of Germany's society in 2026 exemplary.

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Hypnobird@reddit

The is situation is sad, and not unique to Germany.

We have seen similar debates in New Zealand. In 2021, the baby orca Toa stranded near Wellington after becoming separated from its pod. A huge rescue effort followed, with volunteers, vets, DOC and others caring for him around the clock while people searched for his pod. He was young, unweaned and vulnerable, and despite all that effort he died after about 12 days. DOC later said its own costs alone were over NZ$129,500, not including all the volunteer time and other support involved. ()

There was also Happy Feet, the emperor penguin found near Wellington in 2011. He was treated, transported south, tagged and released into the Southern Ocean, but the tracking signal stopped soon afterwards, so no one really knows what ultimately happened. ()

I understand why people want to help. Once the media gives an animal a name and follows the story, it becomes emotionally very hard to say “let nature take its course”. But sometimes these individual rescue efforts become expensive, stressful for the animal, and very unlikely to succeed.

That money and effort may sometimes be better spent on wider conservation work that protects whole populations and habitats, rather than pouring everything into one very sick or displaced animal because it has become a public story

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Beepbeep_bepis@reddit

>And in a cursory look from the news 2 weeks ago about its release, many people in this subreddit with zero background knowledge also celebrated it. This should be a big red notice to you to sit down and contemplate how much of a whale friend you really are.

Absolutely. This comment has 159 upvotes. Pathos has its place, for sure, but when it comes to charismatic megafauna, people throw all logic out the window in favor of emotion only.

This person also said, “Greenpeace and several controversial experts, who had initially assessed the situation incorrectly, are now facing criticism in Germany due to a series of wrong decisions during the early rescue attempts.”

“Controversial experts” “incorrectly” “wrong decisions”. See how the narrative doesn’t match the reality of the situation? These experts were 100% correct and were villainized and demonized because they correctly assessed the situation. Unfortunately, since the outcome wasn’t pleasing to out of touch keyboard warriors who think life works like a Disney movie, this whale suffered far more in its final moments than it would have had people actually listened to the experts.

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wolacouska@reddit

You need a space between the > and the word

and Vs and

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dogsarethetruth@reddit

Another in a long and troubling trend of news articles (and ensuing public memory) framing a story as a brave maverick going against the consensus of actual experts to heroically save the day. Hollywood fantasy bullshit that puts real people and animals in danger over and over again.

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Mission_Mulberry9811@reddit

They did find the tracker, that's how they know it's the same whale

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CatVonBee_@reddit

I was about to comment that same. The whale was identified via the tracker. It semi-worked and was sending signals till Sunday (notably no GPS). It's sad for the whale. Sadly after all the weeks stranded, the whale had no strength left.

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Fun-Vermicelli-6677@reddit

"Sadly after all the weeks stranded, the whale had no strength left." implies he could have made it if the rescue mission was launched earlier. This is an assumption that is very likely not correct.

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CatVonBee_@reddit

Interessing assumption you made from my comment. I wasn't saying if the mission was launched earlier the whale would survived. Even after the first attempt, the chances were very low. I merely expressed the whole situation was sad and the whale being stranded for 5 weeks leaves no strength for the whale to make it.

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xslayserx@reddit

The whale stranded itself, because he had noch strength to survive. He was actively looking for a comfy place to die. Sometimes we should just let nature be.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

This behaviour has never been observed before. I don‘t know why this idea has been repeated so often. Whales don‘t do this. Give me any example of this kind of behaviour, please! The strandings are more likely a result of failing orientation.

And another question: How is dying of starvation or overheating a peaceful death? The whale didn‘t receive analgesics or katecholamines. It‘s not comparable to a hospice. It‘s likely much better to die in open water than in a stranded position. The huge majority of whales die in open water.

If they really had a tag installed and it had been sending data until Sunday, he survived a lot longer than would be expected, if you argue that he stranded due to weakness.

We really should let nature take its course and stop occupying the ocean and kill countless creatures. It‘s time for us humans to step back.

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Gramposity@reddit

If you believe that we should let nature take its course, then when the whale strands, we should not interfere. When it is "freed" and strands again, that's a second chance to stay the hell away.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

The whale was entangled in a fishing net. Is this nature? Is it nature that so many ships roam all seas? I am pretty sure that this whale would not have stranded if humans would just stay the f*ck away from the sea.

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Gramposity@reddit

I'm 100% for eliminating threats to whales. I've spent my entire life working towards that. But you said that "we should let nature take its course" and then you're saying that when the whale (for whatever reason) self-strands, we should now intervene and "save" it? Which is it? Do you want to let nature take its course in all circumstances or just some of them?

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

I am trying to say that if humans hadn‘t interfered with nature in the first place, this whale wouldn‘t have stranded. This way, there wouldn’t have been the necessity to save it. Humans should stay away from the ocean.

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Gramposity@reddit

So following your line of reasoning, then its OK for humans to interfere again when the whale responds to the first interference? Even in your logic, does that actually make sense? If you want humans to stay away from the ocean, then when a whale strands, we should stay away and leave it alone.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

No! I just say that humans should stay away from the ocean. They may not be able to save whales that could have been saved otherwise, but if there were no vessels (and I mean none) and no human interference, there would be less damage. It may be sad for certain individuals, but the risk-to-benefit ratio is not worth it.

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Gramposity@reddit

Its a lovely statement to make. But the reality of society means its not going to happen. I've been working on cetacean conservation for over 30 years and those of us in the field that actually end up making differences learn to work with stakeholders rather than making big sweeping useless statements like "humans should stay away from the ocean". That doesn't move the needle at all and actually hurts our cause.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

I understand you, but you probably won't make much of a difference. In the end, humans will probably eradicate themselves due to their greed and kill countless species along the way. I hope that your efforts will save at least a few of these wonderful beings, but I believe the majority of the efforts will be in vain. Humans haven't fundamentally changed since they have emerged and they will continue to exploit the earth as long as possible. There really is no way to save the world while humans are still in charge. I hope that I am wrong.

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BattleMcStruggle@reddit

Stepping back? So, like in not trying to rescue the whale?

You can't have it both.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

Stepping back from existing. Humans are the cause of most evil in the world. If they didn‘t exist, so many species as well as individuals wouldn‘t suffer.

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Beepbeep_bepis@reddit

Well, no wonder you’re parroting the German right wing media. Clear what your beliefs are.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

I am not saying that humans from Africa or Arabia should cease to exist. I am just stating that humans as a whole are harmful to Earth. Right-wing media adore the culture they have emerged from. I don‘t see how this fits my views.

Humans are like cancer to earth. They are infiltrating every single place in this world and killing everything within their reach. Don‘t you think other life would fare better without humans?

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Beepbeep_bepis@reddit

Your mindset is a slippery slope to exactly what I am saying. Seek professional therapy. You are not well.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

Unfortunately, I can‘t see your answer here. I am in way a fascist. I have always hated this ideology. I just believe that the world would be a better place without humans. Humans have killed the huge majority of other animal life. Wild mammals make up 4% of the total biomass of all mammals. Is this right? Is it good that humans have destroyed so much life to procreate to such an extent?

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

Because I am a human that realises that humans are harmful? Tell me: What is good about humans? What makes them beneficial to life on earth?

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Gramposity@reddit

Absolutely correct! Listen up people.

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Neomadra2@reddit

You don't get it. It's all symbolic. /s

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_Comrade_Wombat_@reddit

Nice summary, well done

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xslayserx@reddit

This 100%, thanks.

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tranquilrage73@reddit

That photo is awful. I preferred to imagine him swimming off never to be seen again.

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PitifulMedia3379@reddit

I am very sad to hear of Timmy’s demise! I was hoping there may be a slight chance he may survive but from what I read, he was dumped into a shipping lane by the crew that brought him there. RIP! 😇😇🙏🏻🙏🏻

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AdhesivenessOk3195@reddit

🙏😭🙏 bless you Timmy

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soxiwah641@reddit

This sub was absurdly in support of getting the whale out of Germany, torturing it during the whole procedure, instead of letting it just die in peace.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

Die in peace due to starvation or overheating? Without analgesics or katecholamines?

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docszoo@reddit

I can tell you dont give a shit about the environment cuz you want to poison the organisms that consume its flesh afterwords from the drugs you infuse into its body.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

I care about the environment. I don‘t say that this should have been done. I am just saying that letting him die there would not have been a peaceful death.

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docszoo@reddit

You should really consider taking informed, evidence-based education. Your comments through this thread show you act purely on emotion and not logical reasoning, nor do you seem to have a clear answer to most things people are saying. Experts already agreed on what would have been best for the whale given our tech, funding for these situations, and the wellbeing of the whale and environment.

Instead of arguing with people about what should be done to the whale, your energy would be far more effective in fighting for legislation on fishing practices.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

I have three degrees in the MINT field. So, I know quite a lot about evidence-based reasoning.

The experts argued without any data. They compared this to cases it could not have been compared to. They argued without a strong factual basis. The whale survived for much longer than it was expected to survive. Nobody knows how the story would have turned out, if this rescue attempt had been started earlier.

I think that interfering with the ocean is bad in general. And I have always fought against exploitation of nature. In the end, I believe that the environment cannot be saved while humans exist.

Just look at the measures against climate change. Everybody knows that it is real. But nowadays, many people just deny it to be able to sustain their lifestyle. I don't think this problem will be solved while there are humans on this earth.

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Gramposity@reddit

You have your own set of expertise. If someone asked you to make an assessment in your field, you would do so based on that experience and training. If you thought you didn't have enough information to make a call, you would say so.

What in the world makes you think you are any different from the experts who responded to this stranding?!?!? They care for these animals as much if not more (having devoted their lives to this work) than the average person. Why would they risk their reputations and careers on some off the cuff assessment with (as you say say) "no data"? If you consider yourself an expert in anything then that line of argument is the height of rude and condescending.

Stating a counterfactual ("nobody knows how the story would have turned out") is just lazy. Extraordinary claims must be supported by extraordinary evidence.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

Did the first responders have any experience with strandings of large baleen whales?

How would they risk their careers because of that? Given the low quality of most scientific output, how many people would be unemployed if we really followed this line of argument?

I am very critical of my field, as well, and unfortunately, I know the many shortcomings when it comes the limited factual basis much of the "knowledge" is based on.

I just think that given the lack of information in this field, much more research has to be carried out to reach a sufficient level of knowledge.

I am really shocked how much biologists are lacking in the areas of logical reasoning, inferential statistics and hard sciences. Actually, it should be less of a surprise to me given the contact that I have had with them. But I still find it kind of sad.

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Gramposity@reddit

Yes, they do have experience with large whale strandings. They are the official stranding response team for Schleswig-Holstein.

You happen to be communicating to a marine mammal biologist who is also a modeler. Marine mammal biology is also a relatively small and competitive field. I'm not saying that a) everyone is top notch, or b) I know everyone in the field, but a vast majority of the people I meet are top notch, and I know a lot of people in the field. I know people on this team. I know their skill level and I know their experience. I and every other colleague I've spoken with about this issue agree they made the right call.

I'll even add that in my over 30 years in the field, I have participated in a fairly large number of strandings (both live and dead) and necropsies in a variety of locations. I would never feel confident enough to say that I could tell what should or should not be done in any given live stranding case and would always defer to the vet on the team. What makes you think you know more?

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

I have never stated that I know more.

I have just said that it is kind of strange that so little references are presented when claims are made with such a level of confidence.

Do they have experience with large whale strandings in this part of the world or elsewhere in the world? What institutes are they exactly associated to? I have not found a single reference for the people associated with the first rescue attempt that stated clearly that they have had experiences with such rescue missions, especially given how rare strandings of baleen whales are in this part of the world.

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Gramposity@reddit

Also, at the top of this thread, you said simply, "If he had been moved earlier, he would probably have had a better chance of survival."

That statement says, you have an opinion that is contrary to the experts in this field. You've yet to provide the extraordinary evidence for this extraordinary claim.

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Gramposity@reddit

Stephanie Groß from ITAW: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stephanie-Gross-4

If you say that more could have been done or something different could have been done, you are by default saying that you have information they don't have. The "just asking questions" line doesn't work here.

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GeorgeMcCrate@reddit

I was in support of blowing it up.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

I am in support of blowing mankind up.

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Gramposity@reddit

... or be acoustically tortured, physically stressed, improperly drug, and then drown? It decided what it wanted by swimming into the shallows. Let's honor that, shall we?

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

Drowning is the natural cause of death in whales. They don‘t have a breathing reflex like humans. If that‘s better for them, is not known, but I believe it‘s less of a torture than dying over weeks or even months in such an unnatural habitat.

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Gramposity@reddit

The whale actively stranded (twice). Are you saying that you know better where and how it should die?

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

How do you know how he stranded and whether he stranded actively? Have you talked to him personally?

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Gramposity@reddit

The whale was conscious and swam to shallow water not once, but twice. In our world, that is considered an active stranding. Its a very simple and straightforward concept. This is in opposition to a passive stranding when the animal is unable to swim and drifts ashore.

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Mic98125@reddit

I hope they redouble efforts to remove ghost nets wherever possible. It’s dangerous and exhausting but saves so many lives.

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TheDinoKid21@reddit

So basically Timmy was entangled?

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Dora_Xplorer@reddit

They won't. It just hurts anonymous animals which don't have a name. 😞

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jasonreid1976@reddit

I saw a post the other day about the whale and that was the only time I've heard about it. So sad. Sucks to see such a majestic creature die, especially when he was rescued.

I found an NPR article on him.

https://www.npr.org/2026/05/16/g-s1-122490/timmy-humpback-whale-dead-stranded-rescue-denmark

Not much in detail beyond where he was found.

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_Comrade_Wombat_@reddit

He wasn't rescued. People just didn't want to see him die. He would have died either way and instead of letting nature take its course people had to "save" one animal by stressing it the fuck out, making trouble for everyone and patting themselves on the back after. And this is the result.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

Nobody knows if he could have survived if the first rescue attempt had been carried out more professionally, or if the rescue attempt had been started earlier and executed better. There is so little known about the pathophysiology of whales. Any prediction cannot be taken seriously due to lack of data. It‘s like medicine from the Middle Ages. It‘s doesn‘t have a factual basis.

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neonfruitfly@reddit

The animal stranded himself multiple times. He was sick.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

The whale was sick. Of course. If it was curable? We will never know. We don't even know the name of its condition. We know almost nothing.

Did he strand to failing orientation? Did he strand because he intentionally did so? We don't know it. We just know that this behaviour has never been observed before. Therefore, we cannot assume that he did it intentionally.

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neonfruitfly@reddit

He stranded multiple times. Healthy animals don't do that. Was it intentional? We will never know.

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Nearby-Praline-9613@reddit

Sure! But nobody knows the cause of this and whether the condition was reversible. There was the idea that this condition might be reversible in its natural habitat. If that could have been the case, if the rescue had been carried out earlier, can never be known.

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Brummbirne@reddit

Oh for fucks sake, is it really over? This whole topic has been annoying the hell out of me

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Double_Tumbleweed384@reddit

I just read similar comments in German speaking subs and most people agree. Non-German speakers don't know what a huge shitshow this whole topic was over here.

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Opal_Pie@reddit

We know what a shit show it was. A little empathy for the whale that people insisted on torturing would be nice, though.

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TheTayIor@reddit

Empathy would have been to choose euthanasia.

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Opal_Pie@reddit

Yup, exactly. But there also needs to be empathy for what he unnecessarily went through. He was essentially tortured.

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Brummbirne@reddit

Yeah that part probably didn't made it out of Germany

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WhippiesWhippies@reddit

And that's fine, but this is r/whales. People from all over the world view this sub and are understandably going to post and comment about Timmy.

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WhippiesWhippies@reddit

If you are annoyed by news about a whale, perhaps this isn't the sub for you

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Brummbirne@reddit

I'm annoyed by this particular whale, I'm German and our news are full of Timmy. Not just news, but every German side of social media, I had customers at work chat to me about it and that's what's annoying to me

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WhippiesWhippies@reddit

Being bothered by this is weird af.

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Beepbeep_bepis@reddit

It’s become a far right wing media circus in Germany, that’s why people are bothered more than anything else.

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WhippiesWhippies@reddit

Yeah, I was enlightened in another comment. Totally valid. The comment just saying they're sick of hearing about this with no other context is what threw me. Like...this is a sub about whales. People are going to post this news here.

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Wide-Meringue-2717@reddit

It’s not the whale itself. It’s what the news outlets, tabloids and influencers made of the situation. None of it was about the whale. He was just a welcome sensation for loud irrelevant people to get attention. And it turned into a nasty propaganda shit show and all kinds of dumb proud imbeciles demanded to have a say in how the situation is handled. Instead of forks they came with selfie sticks. Those people can’t tell the difference between a humpback and an orca. Including a former Hell‘s Angel with connections to the far right and a fucking face tattoo. He gathered a bunch of nail salon Uschis around him for support. Other people went to where the whale had stranded and watched the experts cut the ghost net from its mouth while they where munching on a fish sandwich talking about animal welfare and how experts are doing everything wrong. All kinds of idiots turned up with an opinion on what to do and it quickly turned into a political farce. It was really bad.

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WhippiesWhippies@reddit

That’s fair and very valid. The original commenter didn’t provide any context so I found it odd to complain about a post about the death of a well known whale in a sub called r/whales.

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Brummbirne@reddit

It's not, no. And I'm by far not the only one.

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Das_Inox@reddit

You're probably not annoyed by the whale itself but by the news and the artificial hype around it. I'm with you. Yes, i love whales and it is a real tragedy but what some people made out of it is beyond me.

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Brummbirne@reddit

Yeah, that's more fitting. I'm just glad the animal could finally pass away without humans swirling around it like flys

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Blubayah@reddit

Don’t mind the downvotes. A lot of people in Germany are exhausted by this topic, especially because the far right has instrumentalized this poor animal for its own agenda. You probably have to live in Germany to understand the truly CRAZY extent of this fever dream.

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ussrname1312@reddit

I‘m a little OOTL, what’s the far right doing with this?

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Blubayah@reddit

The far right exploited the event to mobilize people against experts, scientists, and government authorities while spreading conspiracy theories and anti-government narratives. Some right-wing influencers, such as Danny Hilse/Danny Firstclass, even inserted themselves directly into the rescue operation (he even was on the boat that dumped the whale into the North Sea) despite having no background in animal rescue or conservation. By leading angry demonstrations and posting highly emotional content, including videos of himself petting the whale, he helped fuel online outrage, encouraged distrust toward experts and officials, and further intensified the already toxic atmosphere surrounding the event. People on social media went crazy, it was an online bloodbath. Every expert and official was a corrupt liar in their option.

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ussrname1312@reddit

Greeeeeaaaat. Social media was a mistake

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Brummbirne@reddit

Yeah, it was ridiculous, every single facet of this whole case. I hope the whale found at least some comfort in the end or that it at least happened quickly

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LatrodectusGeometric@reddit

Wait German redditors, I want to hear more. How was the whale capitalized on? What was the discussion?

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Blubayah@reddit

The story became exhausting and problematic because emotions, media spectacle, and politics began to overshadow scientific expertise. Marine biologists repeatedly warned that continued rescue attempts could extend the whale’s suffering, but social media quickly transformed the situation into a national battlefield driven by outrage, conspiracy theories, and hostility toward experts.

What should have remained a discussion about animal welfare turned into a highly politicized media drama. The situation became even crazier as a wide range of questionable figures inserted themselves into the debate like self-proclaimed whale whisperers, esoteric influencers claiming they could “feel” the whale’s emotions, and dubious online personalities presenting themselves as rescue experts. Some officials and scientists even received death threats.

Far-right influencers and conspiracy-driven people exploited the emotional aspects of the story to attack scientific institutions and government authorities, while crazy AI-generated songs circulated online, emotionally charging the narrative even further and portraying experts as heartless and corrupt.

The extremely expensive privately funded rescue attempt, reportedly costing more than €1.5 million, also became highly controversial. As the media attention grew, more and more questionable figures entered the scene, many seemingly using the drama for social media attention, personal branding, or ideological agendas rather than genuine concern for the animal. Far-right influencers in particular exploited the emotional intensity of the situation for propaganda purposes.

And the story has been on major media outlets almost every single day since March, so excuse us when we say that a lot of people are tired. I love whales, and I’m genuinely saddened that the animal died, but the entire situation exposed deeper social problems in Germany and showed how a whale stranding can spiral into something deeply unhealthy and polarizing.

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LatrodectusGeometric@reddit

Holy cow. Turns out maybe we should listen to experts and spend 1.5 million on something they want to fund FFS

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Brummbirne@reddit

https://youtube.com/shorts/otX2TH52Ric?is=7wd-vnO6IpBsoDVb

There are English subtitles and it sums it up pretty well. This is the feeling this whole situation gave you if you're German.

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Brummbirne@reddit

Go to r/tagesschau, there were three posts within the last day about the whale. It's the news station in Germany, it's independent and doesn't rely on clickbait. Look for "Wal", it's whale in German.

I'm unsure how the far right capitalized on it, it's the first time I heard about that.

The discussion was basically a back and forth of "hey, we asked this expert what to do and he said to leave the whale alone, so now we will try to get the animal back in the water" and that exact Spiel over and over again. The whale made his way back in land a few times if I remember correctly and absolutely everything was a news story.

They would have made it a story if he farted and I'm not even kidding. I remember seeing a video of a group of women going to the whale to SING for it, it was absolutely everywhere in every German subreddit, memes about it, jokes about it, random comments about it. I cannot stress enough what a fucking fever dream it was

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sneakpeekbot@reddit

Here's a sneak peek of /r/Tagesschau using the top posts of the year!

#1: Das. Ist. Keine. Eilmeldung. | 624 comments
#2: Tagesthemen schneiden Javier Bardems "Free Palestine" Ruf bei den Oscars raus | 34 comments
#3: ARD hat ein Video von einer Applaudieren Merkel in einen Beitrag geschnitten, obwohl diese bei der Ergebnisverkündung überhaupt nicht mehr im Saal gewesen sein soll. Quelle: Süddeutsche Zeitung "Falsches Bild, schon wieder". | 234 comments

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Wooden-Size-1397@reddit

Du hast diesen Kommentar im falschen Sub gepostet. Hättest du in einem deutschen Sub gepostet, hätten dir viele zugestimmt. Wir sind alle genervt von Timmy-News. Aber das checken die Leute über unsere Landesgrenzen hinaus leider nicht, weil die es anders erlebt haben…

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Beepbeep_bepis@reddit

Let this be a lesson to everyone to not fall for right wing propaganda efforts to discredit scientists and environmental organizations. They want to erode the public’s trust in these groups so they can justify cutting their funding. Because they wrapped it up in a pretty Disney story, you all fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Frankly, it’s shameful.

Experts always have and always will know better than you. On every subject, even ones that are cute and cuddly and tug at your heartstrings. Your personal pathos is not credible evidence.

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ebulient@reddit

They didn’t care at all about the noble whale; in reality all they care about is increasing suffering cos they’re unhappy mfs and misery loves company!

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rose__dragon@reddit

Not surprised, but still so saddened by this. I'm so sorry, Timmy.

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Lopsided_Glove_4905@reddit

They should have left him alone...

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Juliasapiens@reddit (OP)

Yeah I feel the same. He’s been through so much.

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