Overview
- Maritime police said the whale left the Bay of Wismar overnight and that no new sightings have been logged.
- Officers said they are searching the bay but will not chase the animal to avoid extra stress.
- Rescuers reported it freed itself the previous evening after a gentle push from an inflatable boat, which the state environment minister said was helped by keeping the scene calm.
- The humpback was first spotted about a week earlier on a Lübeck sandbank and later re-stranded in Wismar after a heavy-equipment rescue briefly refloated it.
- The saga drew heavy media coverage and criticism over spending priorities, with one paper arguing the operation could cost more than years of work to save local amphibians.