Timmendorfer Beach, Germany, March 24, (dpa/GNA) – Marine wildlife experts have again failed to free a whale that has been stranded off Germany’s Baltic Sea coast, with the latest attempt using a sand dredger proving unsuccessful on Tuesday.
Rescuers attempted to suck up the sand from beneath the animal, which has been stranded at Timmersdorfer Beach since early on Monday, in order to free it.
“Unfortunately, it turned out that the sand was too compact,” said Stephanie Gross from the Institute of Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW).
“We will try everything to save the animal,” local mayor Sven Partheil-Böhnke vowed.
Different equipment is en route to the scene but it not expected until Wednesday afternoon, she added. A fresh attempt is to be made on Thursday.
Earlier on Tuesday, the whale, which is surrounded by shallow water, was measured using a drone.
The 10-metre-long animal is a humpback whale and is probably a young male, according to Sea Shepherd, a marine advocacy group.
The group said it likely got stuck while migrating, and it might be the same whale repeatedly sighted in the area this month.
The beach around the stranding site has been cordoned off, with construction fencing and red-and-white barrier tape. Curious onlookers have approached the scene, with parents lifting their children into the air so they can catch a glimpse of the whale.
“It is sad for the animal. You don’t want to be gawking,” said one walker whose family lives in nearby Niendorf. She hopes the whale will be freed.
Another walker said she simply felt sorry for the whale. Other passers-by expressed similar views.
“The poor guy. I hope he can still be rescued,” said Stefan Stauch, who came with his wife from Scharbeutz, a few kilometres away.
The high tide around midnight was not enough for the massive marine mammal to be able to swim free, a police spokesman said. Several attempts to get the whale off the sandbank since early Monday have all failed.
The rescue measures were repeatedly disrupted by onlookers, Mayor Partheil-Böhnke said. Some had tried to approach the animal by boat or bypass barriers. Attempts to get close panicked the whale, and made the already complex measures even more difficult.
Killing the young humpback whale to spare it possible suffering is not an option, according to ITAW head Ursula Siebert. There are international agreements on what can be done and how.
“The bigger the whale is, the more difficult the whole thing becomes,” Siebert said. The local conditions are also unfavourable.
The German Oceanographic Museum said the water is too shallow for the whale, but too deep for a targeted killing. “In addition, there is no reliable method of euthanasia for such a large whale, that can completely rule out further suffering.”
The German Oceanographic Museum told dpa, it was an extremely difficult situation in which experts on site would have to weigh every measure and decision very carefully.
“Euthanasia would be very difficult under the circumstances prevailing” in the area “as the whale is still in the water.”
It is very difficult to assess how the whale is actually doing, Siebert said. The animal is still in good nutritional condition but has had skin changes. The longer it lies in its current position, the weaker it will become. At the moment, however, the assessment is that it still has the will to live.
“The whale’s state of health is worrying, both in terms of its skin and its general condition.” And even if it is freed, the Baltic Sea is not suitable for the whale in the long term, they said. There are numerous disturbances, for example from shipping, and there are also bottlenecks in Danish waters.
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are found in all polar to tropical seas. They mainly stay in the open sea, but can also be found close to the coast, especially in breeding areas.
Lengths of more than 10 metres and weights of 30 tons are possible. A characteristic feature is their long pectoral fins, known as flippers, which can reach a third of the body length.
GNA