The whale nicknamed Timmy, whose fate has fascinated Germany since the end of March, was released into the waters of the North Sea on Saturday.
The young animal has survived after a one-day transport from the German coast of the Baltic Sea. The 12-metre (about 40-foot) marine mammal was traveling inside a special barge filled with water after previous attempts to help it swim under its own power had ended due to the animal being restrained and in increasing distress.
Timmy is now back in his original North Sea habitat. But despite reaching the salty, cold waters of northern Europe, the whale remains at risk, as its health deteriorated while stranded.
Does Timmy want to sink or swim?
Earlier this week, marine biologist Fabian Ritter told DW that rescuers needed to make sure Timmy could handle deep water before releasing him.
“Look, a whale that remains motionless for several weeks, lying on land, will suffer from muscle stiffness (…) it will not be in an immediate state of swimming, just actively, getting out of the barge and being free and happy,” he said.
“If you have small whales that were lying on land (…) and you swim them back up and put them back into deeper water, you need to support them for a period of time, to make sure they can move naturally and actually swim. If you don’t do that, they sink to the ground and suffocate. So that’s a real danger,” he warned.
Some environmental and animal rights activists criticized the latest rescue effort, arguing that the whale had gone too far and that transportation would put it under even more stress.
Edited by: Louis Olofse