Stranded humpback whale in Germany released into North Sea

A desperate rescue effort that many had written off has ended with a humpback whale back in open water, after the animal was ferried by barge from near the German coast and released into the North Sea off Denmark.

The whale, nicknamed “Timmy” in Germany as its struggle gripped the public and triggered intense media attention, slipped out of the barge, blasted air through its blowhole and swam away, according to Karin Walter-Mommert, one of the wealthy entrepreneurs who bankrolled the operation.

She said the whale was moving under its own power and, for now at least, heading in the correct direction.

The whale “has some small injuries – probably from being transported in rough seas – but they are superficial”, said Ms Walter-Mommert.

The animal was first seen stranded on a sandbank on 23 March near the city of Luebeck, on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast. It later managed to free itself, only to become trapped again several times.

Earlier rescue efforts were unsuccessful, and authorities eventually said they were abandoning the operation — a decision that prompted Ms Walter-Mommert and another wealthy entrepreneur to intervene.

The pair advanced a plan widely viewed as a gamble: guide the whale into the water-filled hold of a specially equipped barge and tow it back toward its natural habitat.

Some experts criticised the privately funded mission, arguing that it risked placing the already stressed animal under even greater strain.

Yet the strategy appeared to work against the odds, with organisers saying the whale left the barge from Wismar Bay on the Baltic coast at about 8.45am (7.45am Irish time).

To load the whale onto the vessel, rescuers fastened straps around it and pulled it through a channel specially dug in the sand so it could reach the barge.

Rescuers then swam beside the animal as it gathered speed and moved into the barge, drawing cheers from people watching from the shore.

The barge plan emerged after an earlier attempt by the entrepreneurs to rescue the whale using inflatable cushions and pontoons failed.

Officials approved the operation after veterinarians determined that the whale was in suitable condition to be transported.

The whale’s ordeal has dominated coverage across television, online news outlets and social media, while also fuelling bitter disputes and conspiracy theories over how it had strayed off course in the first place.