Latest news Authorities: Dead whale off Denmark is Baltic Sea whale "Timmy"
According to the authorities, the dead whale off the Danish island of Anholt is the humpback whale known as "Timmy", which had previously stranded in the Baltic Sea. A previously attached tracker was found on the animal, according to the Ministry of the Environment in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.
16.05.2026, 16:16
16.05.2026, 16:34
SDA
Divers from the Danish nature conservation authority Naturstyrelsen and a German vet had taken another look at the whale on Saturday and had also dived under the animal. On Friday, the authority initially stated that no transmitter had been found on the animal. Morten Abildstrøm from the authority later explained that a transmitter attached to the dorsal fin could not have been detected because the dead whale was initially lying on its side and then on its back. The re-examination now brought clarity.
Rescue attempt has failed
This also makes it clear that the private initiative's rescue operation has failed. The whale, which had been stranded several times on the coast of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, was brought into the open sea by the private initiative with the help of a barge and released into the Skagerrak on 2 May, around 70 kilometers from Skagen.
After its release, it remained unclear what happened to the whale. Experts from animal welfare organizations had unanimously estimated the whale's long-term chances of survival as very low.
Great sympathy for the animal
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Environment Minister Till Backhaus (SPD) emphasized that many people were very concerned about the animal's fate and hoped that it would be possible to release the whale back into the wild. Scientists had not been able to rule out the possibility that the whale could survive despite its certainly poor state of health. "That is why my house has decided to tolerate the salvage attempt. Unfortunately, the animal was unable to take its chance."
Tolerating the rescue attempt was not a criticism of science, Backhaus emphasized. "I think it is absolutely human to take even the slightest chance when a life is at stake. Anyone who wants to criticize this should do so."
What happens next with the carcass?
Now it is important to learn the best possible lessons from what happened and to act accordingly in the future, said the minister. "The death of the whale should remind us to take nature, species conservation and climate protection even more seriously. Because we humans are part of the entire ecosystem." Backhaus thanked the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, which had helped to finally clarify the whale's fate. It must now be clarified with the Danish authorities what should happen to the dead animal.
The Danish Nature Conservation Agency previously stated that there were currently no plans to remove the whale carcass. As it was far away from the beach, it was not disturbing anyone, said authority representative Abildstrøm, adding that several dozen seagulls were currently feeding on the dead animal. Numerous seagulls have been flocking around the animal since the stranding on Thursday, pecking at the carcass lying about 75 meters off the beach.
