Freed humpback whale Timmy found dead days after rescue

The humpback whale known as Timmy, recently freed from the German bay of Wismar, has died. Till Backhaus, the environment minister for the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, announced the whale's passing.

Data from a transmitter attached to Timmy's tail fin after the rescue operation revealed the animal traveled about 215 kilometers post-release. Despite this journey, the whale swam back towards the Baltic Sea, a region where it had experienced repeated difficulties. Tracking information indicated Timmy's swimming speed decreased over time, and it dove less deeply.

The deceased whale was discovered on May 14 off the coast of the Danish island of Anholt. Based on the recorded data, researchers estimate Timmy likely died on May 6 or 7. All collected data will be made available to scientists for further study.

Timmy had been stranded in the shallow waters of Wismar Bay near the German island of Poel since March 31. The whale had a history of stranding along the Baltic Sea coast. A private rescue operation aimed to guide the whale back to open waters, hoping it would reach its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean via the North Sea. However, several marine scientists had previously cautioned that Timmy might have been too weakened to survive long. An autopsy confirmed the whale was female, but the exact cause of death could not be determined.

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Bultrug Timmy is al 4 tot 5 dagen nadat ze was bevrijd uit de Duitse baai van Wismar overleden.