It is not clear whether Timmy can still be helped.Image: keystone
The private rescue initiative for the humpback whale “Timmy” stranded off the Baltic Sea island of Poel will continue on Sunday. Many experts are now criticizing the action.
April 19, 2026, 9:25 a.m04/19/2026, 09:26
The action in the live stream
This is what the plan looks like
By Saturday evening, those involved had continued to prepare to free the whale. In contrast to Friday, when the humpback whale suddenly reacted with strong movements after the approach of a diver, the animal remained largely motionless on Saturday. Occasionally the whale would hump slightly. It also released fountains of water at regular intervals.
On Saturday morning, helpers again placed cloths on the whale’s back and observed the animal. In the afternoon a kind of large hose was lowered into the water. According to previous information, the subsoil in the whale’s area should be washed away in order to then lift the animal with air cushions.
According to previous information from the private rescue initiative, the plan is for a tarpaulin attached between pontoons – floating platforms – to be placed under the whale. The aim is to rescue it from the shallow area and later bring it towards the North Sea. To do this, the pontoons should be pulled by a tug on a long line. According to measurements by the Ministry of the Environment, the humpback whale is 12.35 meters long, 3.20 meters wide and 1.60 meters high.
Failed attempts on the previous days
On Saturday, helpers were near the whale again throughout the day and a floating work platform was brought closer to the marine mammal. However, according to the veterinarian Janine Bahr-van Gemmert, who was involved in the rescue attempt, transport into the open sea was not possible even on the third day of the operation.
The private initiative has been working since Thursday to bring the animal back to the North Sea alive. The transport was originally planned to start on Friday if the rescue plan was successful.
That’s what the rescuers say
The members of the initiative did not want to reveal on Saturday what exactly the internally known schedule looks like. The background is that the team does not want to be under pressure from outside. “We’re doing well now,” said Bahr-van Gemmert. But she also admitted:
“We would like to be even faster.”
The weakened whale has been lying in the same position in the Kirchsee in the Wismar Bay for the 20th day on Sunday.
The situation is difficult, said the veterinarian who runs a seal center on Föhr. But the helpers involved in the rescue are convinced: “We are doing the best for the whale.” For her, seeing the whale trying to “fight its way out” of its situation is not animal welfare. “And you can’t let him die in peace either, because it’s not peace,” is how she describes the whale dilemma.
On Saturday, the helpers said they tried, among other things, to check the animal’s mouth. “We should check whether there is still a piece of net in the baleen,” said Bahr-van Gemmert. However, that was not successful.
She rejected criticism of the action from scientists and other experts: “These people didn’t see this whale. We saw him on site.” She emphasized again that the whale had a “real chance”. Experts who were currently on site would agree with her in this regard.
Criticism from many circles
However, after extensive examination, scientists, experts from authorities and employees of non-governmental organizations recently agreed that the whale needed rest and that further interventions would cause massive damage to the animal. The humpback whale is disoriented and so weak and damaged that it will not be able to make the journey home.
A spokesman for the environmental organization Greenpeace told the German Press Agency that the whale’s health could be determined by the intensity of its exhalation.
“When he gets stranded, the breathing becomes shallower and more like a sigh, and it’s no longer that strong blowout.”
This shallower breathing can be observed more and more often in humpback whales.
“Sick whales have a different breathing pattern; the intervals between breaths are not crucial, but rather the type of breathing,” the marine biologist continued. This species of whale usually breathes two relatively short, rapid breaths at intervals of 20 to 30 seconds, followed by a break of two to five minutes. Then the body is flooded with oxygen.
The environmental protection organization sees little chance of saving the humpback whale through private initiative. “What happens in the best case scenario if he is freed: the animal drowns in the North Sea,” said the environmentalist. In view of the “hype” with the engine noise, boats and divers generated by the campaign, one has to ask oneself whether the procedure is still beneficial to animal welfare.
According to its own information, the organization is not taking part in the current rescue operation because, according to the information available, the whale is sick and severely weakened, it said. (sda/dpa/con)