BERLIN (AP) — The remains of Timmy, the humpback whale whose life and death captivated Germany for months, will be turned into biodiesel as some of the mammal’s bones are set to go to a Danish museum.
A series of failed rescue attempts split the scientific community and a private initiative over whether it was more humane to let the weakened and sick animal die on its own or continue the efforts.
The whale, nicknamed “Timmy” and “Hope” by German media, was found dead on May 14, stranded just off the small island of Anholt in the Kattegat, the broad strait between Denmark and Sweden that connects the Baltic Sea to the North Sea.
Here’s what to know:
Whale was far from its natural habitat
Timmy, measuring 12 to 15 meters (39 to 49 feet) long and weighing 12 metric tons (nearly 26,500 pounds), was first spotted swimming off the German coast on March 3. It’s not clear why the whale swam into the Baltic Sea, far from its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean. Some experts say the animal may have lost its way while swimming after a shoal of herring or during migration.
The mammal then became repeatedly stranded in shallow waters. It was in clear distress, breathing irregularly and mostly barely moving for days.
Timmy also suffered from a bad skin condition, related to the Baltic Sea’s low salt content, and rescuers applied zinc ointment.
Tracking data from a transmitter on its dorsal fin showed that it had likely lived roughly five days after the final controversial rescue attempt failed on May 2, when the mammal was transported toward the North Sea in a barge. It had swum roughly 215 kilometers (around 135 miles) over the five days and was heading back toward the Baltic Sea, which is the wrong direction for it to reach the Atlantic Ocean.
An autopsy of the carcass hasn’t yet determined the cause of death, though officials were able to figure out that Timmy was a female whale after months of assumptions that it was male.
No serious injuries were discovered during the autopsy, as well as no indication of violence or any foreign objects that would have caused its death.
Drama kept Germany spellbound
Local media produced dayslong livestreams to feed the outsized public attention over the fate of the whale. Online newspapers blasted push alerts with the smallest developments about Timmy’s health.
Activists staged protests on the beach in the German town of Wismar calling for the animal’s liberation, while influencers debated whether the best way to help the animal is to let it die in peace or keep trying to assist its return to the Atlantic Ocean.
Interest was so strong that police put up a 500-meter (1,640 foot) protection zone to keep curious bystanders from getting too close and stressing the stranded whale even more.
Despite those efforts, a 67-year-old woman jumped off a boat trying to get close to the whale before she was stopped.
After Timmy’s death, Danish news outlet “News5” published a livestream of the carcass being dragged onto the shoreline by a cable attached to a truck on the beach.
Experts were split on rescue attempts
Attempts to refloat the mammal with the help of police boats, excavators and inflatable boats had temporarily freed it in German waters, but none of the endeavors were ultimately successful.
Experts then came up with a sophisticated plan to use air cushions to lift the animal onto a tarp, which would have been secured to two pontoons and attached to a tugboat. State officials approved the private initiative, but the whale started swimming again as the tide rose. Boats attempted to guide the mammal toward the right path, though that didn’t work either.
Even as some scientists said that the further rescue efforts would in themselves cause the ailing and exhausted animal severe stress, the May 2 barge operation went ahead and Timmy was released 70 kilometers (about 45 miles) from the coast of Skagen, Denmark.
The whale’s body was found nearly two weeks later. It was then dragged onto a Danish beach after roughly two weeks after that, during which the body languished in shallow waters.
Some of the remains will be turned into biodiesel in Denmark, according to German news agency dpa. Some of the bones will go to a Danish museum.
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