Timmy (whale)

Entering the Baltic Sea

The whale likely entered the Baltic Sea via the North Atlantic in early 2026. The exact timeframe is unknown. It entered the Baltic Sea from the North Sea, passing through the Skagerrak and Kattegat straits. It is not known why it chose this route, but was most likely following swarms of fish. Humpback whales are rare in the Baltic Sea, and cannot physically tolerate extended stays there due to the low salinity of the Baltic. Researchers suspect that the whale could have been pursuing a herring run,^[8] and may have been disturbed by ships. The Baltic only has a narrow outlet to the North Sea, and is therefore difficult to escape once entered.^[2]

It was first spotted on 3 March 2026, in the area around Wismar swimming very close to the coast, which is highly unusual for its species. In the days that followed, up until March 9, it was seen with increasing frequency, including in the port of Wismar and in Lübeck Bay. It was clear that it had become entangled in fishing nets. Sea Shepherd and the fire department then began attempts to free it from the nets.^[9][10]

On 10 March, it became entangled in a fishing net near Steinbeck (Klütz) once again, but was freed during a rescue operation. Afterwards, it was escorted by the marine police. It swam swiftly out to sea, appeared healthy, and dived deep for a long time.^[11]

Between 14 and 15 March, the whale was spotted repeatedly, including in Warnkenhagen (Kalkhorst), Travemünde and Scharbeutz.^[9]

On 19 March, Sea Shepherd observed the whale swimming around the Trave River near Travemünde.^[12]

A day later, on 20 March, the whale was spotted in Lübeck Bay near Haffkrug and Scharbeutz. Fishing nets were found entangled around the animal, and some of them were successfully removed. However, the whale swam back toward the open sea with a piece of rope still attached.^[12]

Stranded in shallow waters

On 23 March, the humpback whale was spotted early in the morning on a sandbar near Timmendorfer Strand at the village Niendorf. Volunteers from organizations such as Sea Shepherd and experts from ITAW Büsum (Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research) arrived to assess the situation. Experts partially freed it from a gillnet in which it had been entangled. Rescue efforts were started.^[13][14]

On 24 March, the first attempts were made to free it using a small suction dredger. These attempts failed because the sand was too compacted. Police boats tried to create waves, but this was unsuccessful. The whale's condition was deemed to be cause for concern.^[15][16]

On 25 March, the situation remained unchanged. A larger excavator was requested to dig a trench. In addition, humming from the whale stopped.^[17]

On 26 March, a major rescue operation began. Excavators dug a trench approximately 50 meters long and 1.20 meters deep. Marine biologist Robert Marc Lehmann led the rescue effort. Toward the evening, the whale moved about 30–40 meters in the right direction into the channel. However, the operation was interrupted due to darkness.^[18]

During the night of 27 March, the whale freed itself from the sandbar and made it to deeper water. It could not be located, so a search was conducted using drones and boats. It was spotted near Haffkrug and again off Niendorf. Escort boats from the police and coast guard attempted to guide it, but it swam in the wrong direction. The boats were withdrawn to avoid causing stress to the animal.^[18]

Weakened state

On 28 March, the whale was spotted off the coast of Walfisch Island, stranded once again in shallow water.^[19]

During the night the water level rose, freeing the whale. However, it moved just a few meters before getting stranded again in water only about 2 meters deep. Mostly motionless, it was described by experts who had had a chance to examine it as in decidedly poor health.^[20]

On 30 March, experts, government officials, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's Minister of the Environment, Till Backhaus, attempted to rouse the whale using boats to create targeted noise in hopes it would encourage Timmy to swim away. Previously it had reacted fairly quickly to such stimuli, but this time it was slower. At first it swam in the wrong direction (toward the harbor), but then it turned seaward and dove into the open Baltic Sea. Nevertheless, rescuers were worried because they had discovered that a remnant of the fishing net remained in its mouth.^[21]

During the night of 31 March, Timmy dove underwater and could no longer be spotted, so the coast guard decided to stop tracking it. In the morning, it was spotted again in Wismar Bay, swimming very actively and appearing to be better. Later that day, though, it beached itself in shallow water in front of a bay near the island of Poel. Experts from the Ocean Museum Germany in Stralsund and Greenpeace as well as coast guard members arrived on site to assess it. Closer inspection with expert eyes revealed Timmy's skin had deteriorated significantly and it was much weaker than the morning's observations had suggested.^[19][22]

On 1 April, the experts revealed they did not expect the whale to survive, so all rescue operations were halted.^[23]

Further rescue attempts

On 6 April, experts rejected a proposal to rescue the whale with a special catamaran from Denmark, advising it not only was unlikely to succeed but would also probably cause the whale further suffering.^[24]

Nine days later, the experts allowed a private rescue initiative to proceed. Its plan was to transport Timmy by raising it with lifting bags, spreading a tarpaulin stretched between two pontoons beneath it, then moving the pontoons with a tugboat.^[25]

On 20 April, the whale freed itself and swam under its own strength. Boats from the German Life Saving Association (DLRG) tried to guide the animal towards open seas. At first disoriented and unable to swim in any direction consistently, Timmy figured out how to swim away from the bay later the same day. However, it took only about two hours for it to stop swimming again, and it came to rest on a sand bank.^[26]

Transport and release

By late April, activists had dug a trench into the sand bank and maneuvered a 50-meter long and 13-meter wide barge in front of the whale. On 28 April, aided by helpers guiding it with ropes, in a 4-hour operation, cheered on by onlookers, Timmy swam into the partially submerged barge, the door was closed, and a tugboat was moved in position to pull the barge from the Baltic Sea to the North Sea.^[27][28]

On 1 May 2026, tugboat and barge had passed Skagen and reached the North Sea. Through the night and early the next morning, netting closing the entrance was removed and additional tanks were flooded, but Timmy would not leave the barge. Early on 2 May, Timmy finally exited the barge, then dived, resurfaced, and spouted before swimming away.^[29]

Death

The GPS data from a tracking device attached to Timmy were intended for only a few activists and government officials to prevent large numbers of people from disturbing it. However, according to a rescue project representative, the device failed to transmit useable data.^[30]

Public debate about Timmy's location and condition intensified. By 5 May experts from the Ocean Museum Germany had concluded that Timmy had most likely drowned due to exhaustion, and the spout seen on 2 May was most probably its last sign of life.^[31][32]

On 14 May a humpback whale carcass matching Timmy's measurements was sighted about 75 metres (82 yd) off the Danish island of Anholt.^[33] Danish environmental inspector Morten Abildstrøm told the press that he had been dead for a while, and, after consultation with researchers, he thought the remains to be those of Timmy.^[34] A superficial inspection found no GPS device on the upside-down carcass,^[35] but on 16 May a thorough search by Danish officials finally managed to locate it. Its serial number confirmed the remains were Timmy's.^[3]