May 16, 2026, 12:32 p.mMay 16, 2026, 12:32 p.m
A representative of the Danish nature authority wants to examine the dead whale lying off the island of Anholt again at midday together with a German veterinarian. This is what Morten Abildstrøm from the Naturstyrelsen authority told the German Press Agency. The veterinarian may be able to find out whether the dead animal was the humpback whale Timmy, who had previously been stranded on the German Baltic Sea coast several times, said Abildstrøm.
Veterinarian helped with rescue operation
The veterinarian is part of the private initiative that transported the whale stranded off the island of Poel by barge towards the North Sea – an action that many experts had previously advised against.
The dead whale was stranded about 75 meters off the Danish Baltic Sea island of Anholt on Thursday. On Friday, a piece of his tail fin was severed. The Danish environmental agency Miljøstyrelsen told the Ritzau news agency that the tissue samples should be analyzed in Denmark. It could therefore take “some time” until the results are available. The samples could possibly help identify the animal, it was said.
Dead whale is said to remain lying off the Danish island for the time being
It is not yet known whether a piece of tissue from the whale should also be sent to Germany, said Danish authority representative Abildstrøm. He said there are currently no plans to remove the whale carcass. Since it was far from the beach, it wouldn’t bother anyone, he said, adding that several dozen seagulls were currently feasting on the dead animal.
The humpback whale Timmy, stranded off the German coast, made headlines for weeks. After its release, it remained unclear what happened to the whale. Even around two weeks after the release, there is still no known data on where the animal is. Experts from animal protection organizations unanimously assessed the whale’s long-term survival chances as very low. (sda/dpa)