A few weeks ago, I mentioned the story of Timmy the humpback whale who was “rescued” off the coast of Germany after being stranded. It was somewhat of a controversial effort because some thought it to be a futile effort. Others thought it was worth the chance to save the whale’s life.
After five days of the rescue effort, Timmy was found dead.
Timmy, who it was later found to be a female humpback whale, failed to be guided back to its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean. She was stranded just off the small island of Anholt in the Kattegat, which is between Denmark and Sweden.
She had been transported toward the North Sea in a barge during the rescue attempt. Many scientists, government officials, and the public had lots of opinions, as you can imagine. Some thought it was more humane to allow nature to take its course, while others thought that some heroic efforts should be made.
After collection over a million dollars, efforts were underway to help Timmy. A tracking transmitter was placed on the dorsal find before she was released. It gave information that the whale died on May 6 or 7.
She had swum about 134 miles over the five days, but in the wrong direction for it to reach the Atlantic Ocean.
An autopsy has been performed, but no cause of death has yet been determined.
No injuries had been found on the whale. And no foreign objects were in its body or mouth.
Timmy’s remains will be turned into biodiesel in Denmark and some of her bones will go to a Danish museum.