Fading hopes as rescuers attempt to refloat stranded humpback whale on Germany’s Baltic coast

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Updated: 24/03/2026 - 16:14 GMT+1
Attempts to rescue the mammal are underway, including by using boats to generate waves to help the whale return to deeper water.

Rescue teams in northern Germany are working to refloat a humpback whale stranded in shallow water in the Baltic Sea.

Experts gathered Tuesday morning on the Timmendorfer Strand beach to find a way to pull the 10-meter-long mammal off the ground after the high tide around midnight was not sufficient for the animal to swim free under its own power, German news agency dpa reported.

Earlier rescue efforts on Monday afternoon with police boats, inflatable boats and the help of firefighter drones guiding the rescue efforts were also unsuccessful.

"The problem is that the water around the whale is very shallow here
The area in front of the whale is even shallower than the area behind it," explained Dr
Stephanie Groß, Research Associate at the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research.

Experts assume that the whale is a young male, as males, unlike females, tend to migrate.

It was not immediately clear why the whale got stranded, but rescuers found parts of a fishing net wrapped around the body of the whale, which they managed to cut off.

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