Timmy the whale is dead. And Germany is arguing about whether anyone should have tried to save him in the first place.
Denmark’s Environmental Protection Agency confirmed on Saturday that a whale found dead near the small island of Anholt in the Kattegat strait, the body of water separating Denmark and Sweden, was indeed Timmy. The animal had been spotted beached on a sandbank near Germany’s Timmendorfer beach almost two months earlier, setting off a national conversation in Germany about what to do with a stranded, visibly struggling humpback whale that had captured the public’s heart.
What Was the Rescue Mission and What Did It Cost?
German officials initially concluded there was nothing they could do. The whale was too deep into the shallow sandbanks and too unwell to be freed. That decision triggered a public outcry, and two millionaires stepped in and offered to pay whatever it took to give Timmy a fighting chance.
The rescue operation, believed to have cost around 1.5 million euros, involved floating the whale away from the sandbanks and into a water-filled barge. A tugboat then pulled the barge from Wismar Bay near the German city of Lübeck out to deeper waters off the Danish coast. The operation took place two weeks before Timmy was found dead.
Why Did Experts Object?
According to a report from The Guardian, the International Whaling Commission had warned before the attempt that it was “inadvisable.” By the time the mission was launched, Timmy was described as lethargic, weak and covered in blister-like blemishes from weeks spent in water with far too low a salt content for a humpback. Parts of his mouth were also believed to have been caught in a fishing net at some point.
Experts from the Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund similarly recommended letting the animal die in peace rather than putting it through the stress of a rescue that was unlikely to work.
What Did the German Minister Say?
Till Backhaus, the SPD environment minister for the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, pushed back firmly against the criticism. “It was perfectly human to seize even the slightest opportunity,” he said, as per the report. He framed it as a question of which option was worse: watching the animal die slowly in agony, or trying something that might work even if the odds were against it.
It is a defence that some will find compelling and others will not, particularly given the price tag and the expert consensus that the attempt was doomed from the start.
One More Unsettling Detail
Danish authorities asked the public to stay away from Timmy’s carcass because of the risk of disease. By Sunday, Bild newspaper was reporting that two people had already been photographed taking selfies next to the dead whale’s body.