A humpback whale, nicknamed Timmy by rescuers, is struggling to survive after becoming repeatedly stranded in shallow bays off Germany’s Baltic coast. The roughly 10-metre-long mammal first appeared weakened and sick on Sunday, struggling to find a route back to the Atlantic.
Rescuers helped the whale escape earlier this week, but it was spotted stranded again on a sandbank in the Bay of Wismar less than two days later. Experts fear the whale is too weak to navigate back to deeper waters.
Efforts to free the creature on Thursday involved using an excavator to dig an escape channel. Despite these attempts, the whale’s week-long ordeal continues to put its survival in doubt, as it has twice become stuck on a sandbank.