BERLIN (AP) — A humpback whale that got stranded in shallow coastal waters in the Baltic Sea has swum free again, and experts hope that they won't have to make another rescue attempt.
The whale, which is 12-15 meters (39-49 feet) long, swam free late Monday from the spot near the German port of Wismar where it had been stuck since the weekend, regional officials said. It initially headed toward the harbor but then turned toward the open sea.
The whale was sighted again off Wismar on Tuesday morning and wasn't stuck, the Ocean Museum Germany said.
An effort last week to rescue the whale from an underwater sandbank at Timmendorfer Strand, a nearby resort town, eventually succeeded with the help of an excavator. But the apparently exhausted whale was soon in trouble again, albeit in somewhat deeper water, and officials banked on giving it peace and quiet to gather enough strength to swim away.
The drama captivated Germans, with crowds gathering on shore while media have sent detailed updates on its progress and streamed live video from the scene.
But the whale is still far from its natural habitat, and faces a huge effort to find its way to the Atlantic Ocean through the North Sea.
“The whale swimming free yesterday is a first very good sign, but the way to the North Sea is still long and we can only keep our fingers crossed that it makes it there,” Burkard Baschek, the scientific director of the Ocean Museum Germany and the scientific coordinator of the rescue effort, told ZDF television.
He said it wouldn't be practical to try to escort the whale on that journey of several hundred kilometers (miles), pointing to whales' ability to dive. “That means that in principle we can only hope that it will make it under its own steam,” he added.
No tracker has been attached to the whale because its skin is in a poor state after long exposure to the relatively low salt concentration of the Baltic.
The whale was first spotted swimming in the region on March 3.
It is not clear why the whale swam into the Baltic Sea. Some experts say the animal may have lost its way when it swam after a shoal of herring, or during migration.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Hilary Duff releases 'Mature,' her 1st song in 10 years - 25 Affordable Travel Destinations To Visit In South America
- 3I thought I knew the night sky, but what I saw from the Canary Islands left me speechless
- 4Getting breast implants was a mistake I live with every day. Why I’m sharing my story now, at 70, in pain and afraid.
- 5Who is Artemis? Meet the Greek goddess who inspired NASA's return to the moon
- Vagus nerve stimulation shows promise as a way to counter Alzheimer’s disease- and age-related memory loss
- World's oldest known tortoise still very much alive despite rumor to the contrary
- 2026 will be the year NASA astronauts fly around the moon again — if all goes to plan
- ABC News' Sam Champion opens up about recent health scare
- NASA shares first photos of Earth taken by Artemis II
- In these U.S. groups, deaths now exceed births. What’s happening?
- Science is best communicated through identity and culture – how researchers are ensuring STEM serves their communities
- South Africa collects record $117B tax haul
- The most effective method to Go Down Abundance through Ages with Disc Rates
