Overview
- Greenpeace confirmed the whale was stranded again near Wismar, with state officials saying a new rescue had not yet been decided.
- The whale, which swam free early Friday after rescuers dug a channel with excavators, was escorted in Lübeck Bay by coastguard and other boats.
- Experts say the animal is weak, shows signs of a skin disease, and still carries remnants of fishing gear, and no tracker could be attached because of its poor skin.
- Over several days, teams tried boats to make waves, a suction dredger, drones and finally heavy diggers, an effort complicated by the Baltic’s weak tides that offer little natural lift.
- Humpbacks are rare in the Baltic, and reaching the Atlantic means navigating narrow Danish straits into the North Sea, a hard journey for a young male already in poor condition.