Video: Watson/Lucas Zollinger
April 24, 2026, 1:44 p.mApril 24, 2026, 1:55 p.m
Without further ado, Australia managed to do what Germany has been unable to do for weeks: save a whale. A week ago on Friday, several aid organizations rescued a humpback whale off the coast of New South Wales. He was stranded on a sandbank.
Video: Watson/Lucas Zollinger
The rescue succeeded on the second attempt. Several helpers pulled the whale from a sandbank using special straps. The whale is in good shape despite the strain, according to a statement from the Sea World Foundation involved. The ten-ton animal is now swimming in the open sea again.
In Germany, however, it has not been possible to save humpback whale Timmy for 24 days – he is still lying in the Baltic Sea off the island of Poel.
The German “Tagesschau” takes up this parallel and publishes a video of the rescue operation in Australia. At first the title in the video simply reads “Humpback whale rescued”, shortly followed by the addition “in Australia”. Users on Instagram then humorously accuse the “Tagesschau” of being ragebait. “Just rub it in our faces,” writes the German comedian Aurel Mertz. “‘… in Australia’ was bottomless,” notes another user. Another simply comments “Hope-Bait”. In addition to Timmy, Hope is another name that people have given the animal. (hkl)