A humpback whale that had been struggling to survive after stranding near the German coast was released into the North Sea off Denmark on Saturday after being transported in a barge in a final rescue operation.
The whale, called “Timmy” in Germany – where its ordeal captured hearts and sparked a media frenzy – left the barge, blew air through its blowhole and swam away, said Karin Walter-Mommert, one of the wealthy entrepreneurs who financed the rescue initiative.
It was now swimming on its own and at least for now in the right direction, she said.
The whale “has some small damages – probably from being transported in rough seas – but they are superficial”, Walter-Mommert said.
It “would now swim up the Norwegian coast towards the Arctic”, added the entrepreneur, who made his fortune in horse racing.
The whale was first seen stuck on a sandbar on March 23 near the city of Lübeck, on Germany’s Baltic coast, before breaking free and becoming stuck again several times.
Various attempts to save it had failed and the authorities had announced they were giving up – prompting Walter-Mommert and another wealthy entrepreneur to step in.
They came up with what many saw as a far-fetched plan: lure the whale into the water-filled hold of a special barge and tow it back to its natural habitat.
Some experts criticized the privately funded rescue plan, saying it would only cause the animal more distress.
But the plan seemed to have succeeded against all odds when the whale left the barge from Wismar Bay on the Baltic coast around 8:45 a.m. (0645 GMT), organizers said.
Weeks long saga
To get the whale onto the barge, rescuers had attached straps to it and lifted it into a channel specially dug in the sand so that it could reach the vessel.
Rescuers then swam alongside it as it sped up and entered the barge – prompting cheers from the crowd watching from shore.
The barge idea was hatched after the entrepreneurs’ first attempt to save the whale with inflatable cushions and pontoons failed.
Officials gave the go-ahead for the rescue after veterinarians said the whale was fit to be transported.
The saga has drawn non-stop coverage from TV channels, online channels and influential social media outlets – but has also led to angry spats and conspiracy theories about how the whale got off track in the first place.
