A humpback whale that spent more than a week in two different places in the Baltic Sea finally started swimming again on Monday evening, although it had shown signs of deteriorating health throughout the day.
Water levels in Wismar Bay rose by 30 centimeters on Monday evening, giving the whale a chance to break free, and rescuers were preparing to try to coax it to leave.
“Now it could continue if it wanted to,” said Till Backhaus, the environment minister of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
That moment appears to have arrived on Monday evening, although a spokesman for the department said it was unclear where the whale was swimming. The environmental group Greenpeace said it was heading to the port of Wismar.
German whale: what’s the latest on Monday?
Professor Burkhard Baschek of the German Maritime Museum said Monday could be a “decisive day” for the mysterious space. He warned that it is almost impossible for the whale to free itself in shallow water and there is little room for outside help.
He said the mammal had moved about 1 or 1.5 meters (about 3 to 5 feet) in the past 24 hours, although there had been a period of high water overnight that had created the possibility of migration.
Franziska Saalmann of Greenpeace also said that the whale was less responsive than in previous days when rescuers were trying to measure how it responds to stimuli.
“When we tried to wake it gently, by hitting the water loudly with our boat, it didn’t respond,” Saalman told reporters. “It doesn’t make any noise anymore. This lack of movement and reaction to our presence shows that it is very weak and is getting weaker.”
Baschek said the whale was now breathing once every four minutes, describing the rate as a “significant reduction,” and warned that its skin was showing signs of secondary infection.
He also said that if the moment of time would come when the whale has a clear and easy opportunity to escape, but is unable to use it, it may be necessary to consider euthanasia to end its suffering.
“But we’re not at that point yet,” Baschek said.
Minister says ‘meeting’ marine biologist after criticism, asks for ‘respect’
The whale was initially stranded on a sandbar off Timmendorf beach early last week. After several days and efforts to help clear the road, it managed to free itself and began to move north.
But while trying to navigate through the shallows and natural barriers of the Baltic Sea towards the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, it was again blocked by Wismar Bay, after swimming further east than on a northerly course.
A marine biologist based in Timmendorf, across the state lines in Schleswig Holstein, Robert Marc Lehmann, criticized the ongoing rescue efforts over the weekend. He said he had frozen after the last operation, and asked the Wismar rescuers to put on wet suits and get out of the whale like he did.
State Environment Minister Backhaus spoke about this at Monday’s press conference, saying he was “in touch” with Lehmann and will keep in touch.
He said he prefers to solve problems through cooperation rather than conflict and also called on the public to show “respect” to the experts in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania who are working to help the whale. Backhaus said he was not aware of “any shortcomings” in the work of the German Maritime Museum and Greenpeace and others on the site.
It is thought that the whale may have lost its way first and ended up in the Baltic Sea in early March.
Edited by: Rana Taha
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