Humpback whale washed ashore in Germany is moving again

Environment Minister of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region Till Backhaus noted that the whale now has the opportunity to swim away. According to preliminary data, the whale actually began moving in the evening, but the exact direction is still unknown. Greenpeace suggests that it is moving towards Wismar harbour.

Professor Burkhard Baschek from the German Oceanographic Museum noted that the life of a whale largely depends on the animal itself – whether it can get out of the shallow water on its own, since the possibilities of outside help are extremely limited. He added that over the past 24 hours the whale had moved only 1-1.5 meters, despite the higher water level at night, which theoretically allowed it to move more actively.

Greenpeace representative Franziska Saalman also noted that the whale began to react less actively to external stimuli compared to previous days, when rescuers tried to assess its condition.

The whale first ended up on a sandbank off the coast of Timmendorf. A few days later and after clearing the way, he managed to free himself and begin moving north. However, trying to pass through shallow areas and narrow natural “passages” of the Baltic Sea on the way to the North Sea and the Atlantic, the animal again found itself stranded – this time in the Wismar Bay area. Moreover, in the end it shifted more to the east than it moved to the north.

Environment Minister of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region Till Backhaus told a press conference that he was in contact with Lehmann and intended to continue communication. At the same time, he emphasized that he prefers cooperation to conflicts and called on Internet users to respect the specialists working to save the whale. Backhaus said he sees no shortcomings in the actions of the German Oceanographic Museum, Greenpeace and other organizations involved in the operation. It is believed that the whale lost its way and ended up in the Baltic Sea in early March.