April 28, 2026, 10:48April 28, 2026, 11:14 am
If the private initiative that is trying to move the humpback whale lying off Poel has its way, today should be a crucial day. If everything goes according to plan, the marine mammal, which weighs an estimated twelve tons, will begin its journey towards the North Sea after four weeks in a shallow branch of the Wismar Bay – alive, with water on board a barge that is normally used to transport ships, for example. In the morning, live streams on the Internet showed the whale emitting small jets and breathing.
The action live
The whale has been stuck for four weeks.Image: www.imago-images.de
Several members of the rescue team are currently with Timmy and are attaching the hoses that will be used to pull the whale. So far the whale has remained silent, but the rescue operation is now in the delicate phase. “It must be possible to have the whale on the barge by sunset,” said Environment Minister Till Backhaus to the assembled media on Tuesday. He supports the rescue attempt: “The attempt is worth it.”
The private initiative’s veterinarians consider the animal, which has been stuck in a shallow bay on the German island of Poel off Wismar for four weeks, to be transportable, as the Environment Minister of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Till Backhaus, said in Kirchdorf auf Poel.
The government of the northeast German state also gave the green light for belts to be used to guide the whale, which weighs around twelve tons, through a dredged channel to the transport barge filled with water. You can follow how the action goes live on Tuesday in the stream above.
The plan
Getting the big whale into the so-called barge could be tricky. First, the team wanted to maneuver the animal backwards into this type of floating pool using a tarpaulin. The day before, the veterinarian involved, Kirsten Tönnies, announced a change of plan. The animal should be guided forward using a belt through a specially created channel in the shallow water to and into the barge.
The barge.Image: DPA
The lowerable barge that is supposed to pick up the whale was specially brought from the Elbe through the Kiel Canal. According to previous information from the initiative, a ship will take the barge and the whale towards Skagen to the entrance to the North Sea. So around three and a half days were planned for this.
Criticism is increasing
Whale experts have long advised against further rescue operations involving Timmy. Whale expert Fabian Ritter said a week ago that local people should keep their hands off the whale. “The fact is that this is the fifth time he has chosen a position like this. He makes that conscious.” This way he stays on the surface and can continue to breathe.
On Monday, the German Marine Museum Foundation also reported with a statement:
«The German Maritime Museum shares the emotional sympathy for the fate of the humpback whale off the island of Poel. However, the scientific institution reiterates its assessment that the animal should be given the greatest possible rest, should only be given palliative care and should refrain from further manipulation of the whale.
The foundation advises against making another rescue attempt. Nobody knows how the whale will react to the attempt – and the chances of success are slim. This attitude is shared by various renowned whale research centers. Nevertheless, the private rescue operation is to be carried out on Tuesday.
What the vet thinks
“We’re trying to do it as gently as possible, and this is just a support.” The whale will not be overstressed, assured local veterinarian Tönnies. Oliver Bartelt from the German Life Saving Society (DLRG), which supports the initiative, said the whale would “move in a floating manner”. The animal will not lie down. “It won’t be dragged over any sand.”
Nevertheless, it was unclear until the end whether the attempt would even take place. According to the Schwerin Ministry of the Environment, no documents for the use of the belt had been submitted until late afternoon the previous day, despite repeated requests. The ministry had emphasized in the past that the coordination of appropriate measures was not about approvals, but rather the question of toleration.
How Timmy might react
According to the whale and dolphin protection organization WDC, no one can say how the whale will ultimately react. The limited data available indicated that interactions with humans caused stress in wild large and baleen whales.
“In the wild, whales are not used to situations in which they are confined. “The most likely thing is, generally speaking, that the unfamiliar situation would put a whale in additional stress, possibly even fear and panic.” This is particularly true because the whale cannot follow its natural instinct to flee.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Environment Minister Till Backhaus climbed into the water with Timmy.Image: DPA
If the whale exerts the energy, violent fin beats and thus risks for the animal and emergency services are conceivable. But it could also be that the animal falls into a capture myopathy, “i.e. a kind of paralysis in which the muscles tense up.” It could also be too weak to show strong reactions. “It could then appear as if he was taking part in the operation voluntarily or enduring it.”
The weather
If the transport starts despite all the odds, the weather is forecast to be favourable. In the direction of Schleswig-Holstein, there could be winds of up to force 4 at most on Tuesday, according to the DWD maritime weather office. Wednesday will be “totally weak winds” in the region, said a meteorologist. According to the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH), no unusual water level fluctuations are expected off Poel in the near future. (leo/nil/sda/dpa)