A humpback whale named Timmy by German media has been released after spending more than a month off the country's northeastern coast, reported the Associated Press and the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) .
The sick creature swam away on Saturday, with the help of a boat in the North Sea, following a series of rescue efforts – broadcast live around the world – to encourage him to return to deeper water, the outlets said.
Timmy was first spotted loitering off the coast of Germany's Baltic Sea on March 3, far from his natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean.
His health quickly deteriorated after he was caught several times, and many attempts to persuade him were unsuccessful. Rescuers reported clear signs of distress, such as irregular breathing and limited movement.
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Timmy also had a severe skin problem related to not enough salt in the Baltic Sea, which was treated with zinc ointment, the AP said.
In April, the environment minister of the German Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state gave the green light to the last attempt to save the whale, proposed by an independent program funded by a group of billionaires, despite some warnings from the scientific community that the animal may not survive.
Some experts say that the whale sought shallow water because it was fragile and needed to rest, but the independent veterinarians in charge of the rescue mission said that the animal was ready to be transported.
Jens Schwarck, a member of this program who was helping during the rescue on Saturday in the German city of Wismar, said that the whale was released around 09:00 local time, reported the Associated Press.
The DPA said the mammal was released 70 kilometers off the coast of Skagen, Denmark.
April 23, 2026, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Wismar: Helpers stand next to a whale (aerial photo). A humpback whale that landed near Wismar three weeks ago is still stuck in shallow water. An independent initiative has been trying to save the whale for days.
PhoPhilip Dulian/photo alliance via Getty Images
In the weeks since the whale was first spotted, a debate arose over whether to let it die or try to help it return to the Atlantic.
Some activists organized protests on the beach in Wismar, demanding that it be freed, while others supported different views on how the whale could be transported.
Ahead of Saturday's campaign, plans to lift the whale from the sea floor using a sail and a tugboat, according to BBC reports, but experts have warned that this method could harm the already injured creature.
A 67-year-old woman also jumped off a boat last month to get close to the whale before being stopped, the Associated Press reported.
The international environmental organization Greenpeace condemned the rescue efforts, saying in a statement in April, “We are now focusing our efforts on promoting the protection of the sea, including as a habitat for whales,” before adding that the chances of the animal's survival were extremely low and that the current work posed a high risk of harm to the mammal.
Until the whale is released, online newspapers are posting regular alerts about Timmy's health progress and producing streams of his progress and mapping the whale's whereabouts.
— via files from The Associated Press
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