Overview
- A male humpback stranded in shallow water near Niendorf in the Baltic Sea was refloated after crews cut a channel through the sand with an excavator so it could swim out on its own.
- Rescuers had first removed fishing nets from the whale, which became entangled before it grounded on the seabed.
- Once back in deeper water, rescue boats escorted the animal and tried to guide it toward the open sea.
- Marine experts say the whale is gravely ill with a skin infection, which also stopped them from attaching a tracking chip.
- Without a tracking tag and still in poor health, the animal could strand again as it attempts to reach the Atlantic, a risk that complicates follow-up efforts.