BERLIN (AP) — A humpback whale's likely final days in the Baltic Sea have been livestreamed across the globe as multiple rescue efforts failed to coax it back into deeper waters while the marine mammal gets sicker and weaker.
Nicknamed Timmy by local media, many fear the whale may soon die in the Baltic Sea's shallow waters near the eastern German town of Wismar.
The animal faces long odds in finding its way back out into the North Sea, a journey of several hundred kilometers (miles), and then to the Atlantic Ocean.
Here's what to know:
Whale is far from its natural habitat
Timmy was first spotted swimming in the region on March 3. It is not clear why the whale swam into the Baltic Sea, far from its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean. Some experts say the animal may have lost its way while swimming after a shoal of herring or during migration.
Since then, the mammal has become repeatedly stranded in shallow waters. It's in clear distress, breathing irregularly and mostly barely moving for days.
Timmy is also suffering from a bad skin condition, related to the Baltic Sea’s low salt content, and rescuers have applied kilos (pounds) of zinc ointment.
On top of all that, the whale keeps swimming in the wrong direction when it does move.
Drama has captivated Germany
Local media have produced dayslong livestreams to feed the outsized public attention over the fate of the whale. Online newspapers have blasted push alerts with the smallest developments about Timmy’s health.
Activists have staged protests on the beach in Wismar calling for the animal’s liberation, while influencers have debated whether the best way to help the animal is to let it die in peace or keep trying to assist its return to the Atlantic Ocean.
Interest has been so strong that police had put up a 500-meter (1,640 foot) protection zone to keep curious bystanders from getting too close and stressing the stranded whale even more.
Despite these efforts, a 67-year-old woman jumped off a boat on the weekend trying to get close to the whale before she was stopped.
Experts are split on rescue attempts
Attempts to refloat the mammal with the help of police boats, excavators and inflatable boats had temporarily freed it. But the whale, which measures 12 to 15 meters (39 to 49 feet) long and weighs 12 metric tons (nearly 26,500 pounds), never found its way back to the North Sea.
Experts then came up with a sophisticated plan to use air cushions to lift the animal onto a tarp, which would have been secured to two pontoons and attached to a tugboat. State officials approved the private initiative, but the whale started swimming again Monday as the tide rose. Boats attempted to guide the mammal toward the right path, though some have lost all hope.
Thilo Maack, a marine biologist at Greenpeace, told The Associated Press the efforts are actually causing the animal severe stress.
“I believe the whale will die very soon now. And I would also like to raise the question: What is actually so bad about that?" he said. "Yes, animals live, animals die. This animal is really, really very, very, very sick. And it has decided to seek rest.”
