Humpback whale "Timmy" to be autopsied on the beach

No time? blue News summarizes for you

• The humpback whale "Timmy" lying on the beach on the Danish island of Anholt is being autopsied by experts.
• Experts have arrived for the long-awaited autopsy of the whale, which has been making headlines for weeks.
• The autopsy is not for the faint-hearted.

Summary created with

According to an expert involved in the autopsy of the humpback whale known as "Timmy", examinations like this are particularly valuable for research. It can be difficult to determine the cause of death, Danish researcher Charlotte Bie Thøstesen told reporters on the beach on the vacation island of Anholt. Nevertheless, the aim is to "gather as much information as possible about this stranded humpback whale".

According to Thøstesen, humpback whales are animals that are difficult to study in their natural habitat in the sea. "So when we find stranded whales here in Denmark, we use them to gain knowledge about animals living in the wild," explained the biologist, who heads the natural history department at Museum Vest in Esbjerg, Denmark.

Experts arrived in the late afternoon for the long-awaited autopsy of the whale, which has been making headlines for weeks. Images from the livestream provider News5 showed how the team first closely examined the yellow-brownish carcass and took notes.

The experts then measured the animal, cut open the carcass and began to cut it up and examine its interior. Samples were also taken for DNA analysis and the sex of the animal was determined. At the heart of the investigation is the question of what killed the whale.

Individual bones come to Copenhagen

According to the expert, the animal's bones will also be removed - and then at least some of them will go into the collection of the Natural History Museum in the Danish capital Copenhagen. "We will not preserve the entire skeleton of the whale, but only certain bones," explains Thøstesen. These include fin bones and pelvic bones, for example.

The carcass of the animal has been lying off the vacation island for several weeks, bloated with putrefactive gases and mauled by seagulls. The autopsy is therefore not for the faint-hearted. However, Thøstesen's team is experienced and can cope well with strong odors. "We have worked together on many stranded whales in Denmark, so we are actually all used to the smell," said the expert.