A stranded humpback whale named „Timmy“ lies in the shallow waters off Poel Island in Germany’s Baltic Sea, where a private rescue effort led by electronics retailer founder Walter Gunz has stalled amid conflicting assessments from state officials and marine experts.
Gunz announced to Bild newspaper that the operation to guide the whale back to open water would start on Sunday, but progress remained minimal as of Saturday, with only a bulldozer clearing a path and divers positioning a pre-laid tarp and net in the water.
Veterinarian Janine Bahr-van Gemmert, who oversees the volunteer team, blamed the slow pace on bureaucratic delays, stating that every step requires official approval and deviations from the approved plan trigger further holdups.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s environment minister Till Backhaus rejected the criticism, telling NDR that no permit is needed for the rescue attempt and that the state is merely tolerating the effort under federal nature protection law, which allows private individuals to care for injured wildlife.
Backhaus said the state views the initiative as a formal notice of temporary custody, which it can only prohibit or tolerate and opted for tolerance due to the fact that the plan follows a cautious approach.
<!– wp:paragraph /> wp:paragraph /> wp:paragraph>The rescue effort directly contradicts an earlier joint assessment by the German Oceanographic Museum Stralsund and the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, which concluded the whale’s condition is poor and that attempting to refloat it carries a high risk of injury with little chance of survival.
/wp:paragraph> wp:paragraph /> wp:paragraph>According to that expert evaluation, released prior to the private initiative, the whale should be left to die naturally in the bay to avoid unnecessary suffering from stress-induced trauma during handling.
/wp:paragraph> wp:paragraph /> wp:paragraph>At a press conference captured in Bild’s live ticker, Backhaus expressed hope for the whale’s recovery, stating, “Now we hope and pray that the whale can embark on a good journey,” while veterinarian Bahr-van Gemmert insisted the animal shows strong signs of life.
/wp:paragraph> wp:paragraph /> wp:paragraph>Despite repeated briefings, officials declined to provide a timeline for the operation, noting only that rising water levels might allow the whale to free itself without intervention.
The operation involves guiding the whale along a cleared corridor toward deeper water using a combination of human chains, nets, and shallow-draft vessels, a method that requires precise coordination to avoid panicking the animal.
/wp:paragraph> wp:paragraph>Marine biologists warn that even well-intentioned rescues can cause lethal stress in large cetaceans, particularly when the animal is already weakened, as prolonged human contact and physical restraint may trigger shock or cardiac arrest.
/wp:paragraph> wp:paragraph>Gunz, best known as the co-founder of the MediaMarkt electronics chain, has funded similar wildlife interventions in the past, though none of this scale involving a marine mammal in German territorial waters.
/wp:paragraph> wp:paragraph>The federal nature protection law cited by Backhaus permits temporary care of wildlife but does not authorize interventions that contradict expert advice, creating a legal gray area where state tolerance does not imply endorsement.
/wp:paragraph> wp:paragraph>As of Saturday evening, no significant movement of the whale had been recorded, and rescuers acknowledged that changing conditions — including wind direction and water temperature — could further complicate the effort.
/wp:paragraph> wp:heading>Why did the state allow the rescue attempt despite expert advice against it?
/wp:heading> wp:paragraph>The state is tolerating the effort under federal law that allows private citizens to aid injured wildlife, but it does not endorse the approach and retains the right to halt the operation if it deviates from safety protocols or causes harm.
/wp:paragraph> wp:heading>What are the risks of refloating a whale in poor condition?
/wp:heading> wp:paragraph>Experts warn that attempting to refloat a weakened humpback whale carries a high risk of injury or fatal stress, with survival chances considered low, which is why the initial state recommendation was to let the animal remain in place.
/wp:paragraph>–>Weiterlesen
