Dead Humpback Whale Found in the Baltic Sea as Specialists Prepare Autopsy

German authorities and marine experts are towing a seven-meter dead humpback whale found drifting in the Greifswald Bay to Stralsund for a post-mortem examination.

Discovery in the Greifswald Bay

Early on Thursday morning, August 13, German services received a report that a dead whale was drifting in the Greifswald Bay, which a team from the Stralsund Maritime Museum confirmed a few hours later.

The humpback is approximately seven meters long. Authorities are towing it to Stralsund, where specialists will perform an autopsy.

Increasing Sightings in the Baltic Sea

In recent weeks, a humpback has been spotted multiple times near the Baltic coast. It was first sighted near Kiel, then further east near Wismar, and last Saturday near Polish Miedzyzdroje. It remains unknown whether all these observations involved the very same animal.

Whales, including humpbacks, are increasingly observed in the Baltic Sea. Experts emphasize that the Baltic is not a suitable environment for them due to shallow waters, low salinity, and a limited food base, while human activity also poses a threat.

The Case of Timmy the Humpback

This is not the first situation of its kind. The fate of a humpback named Timmy was followed by the public throughout Germany for weeks.

It was first spotted during the night of March 22 to 23 near the coastal town of Timmendorfer Strand, where it ran aground. The humpback managed to free itself at the time, but later got stuck on surrounding shallows several times.

At one point, private donors organized a rescue operation, transporting the animal on a barge toward the North Sea. Media reported that the action was financed by Karin Walter-Mommert and MediaMarkt co-founder Walter Gunz, though some experts criticized the process as too stressful for the animal.

Timmy was released about 70 km from the coast of Denmark. The Danish Ministry of Environment announced that if the animal ran aground again, no attempts would be made to free it, operating on the assumption that whales in such situations should not be “rescued” or disturbed by human interventions.

In May, Timmy was found dead near the Danish island of Anholt.