New 8-meter humpback whale sighted in Wismar port, Germany

Memories of the stranded humpback whale known as "Timmy" resurface: Once again, a whale in the harbor is drawing attention – this time off Wismar.

Another whale has appeared in the port of Wismar. "The animal was reported to the Wismar Water Police Inspectorate around 9 a.m. by the Wismar Port Authority and has been under observation since then," the Schwerin Ministry of the Environment announced. It is not yet possible to definitively determine which species of whale it is. The size can also only be estimated so far. "According to initial observations, the whale is about eight meters long."

The humpback whale later known as "Timmy" first appeared in the port of Wismar in early March. Its subsequent detours and the complex rescue operation attracted international attention. Most recently, a whale had been sighted repeatedly along the German Baltic coast.

In mid-July, a large whale was seen off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein, for example near Heiligenhafen. The Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of the Environment confirmed the sighting of a humpback whale at the entrance to the Kiel Fjord. According to reports, this was presumably an animal that had previously been observed in Scotland and Denmark. It remained unclear, however, whether it was the same animal as the one near Heiligenhafen.

Unclear if Previously Sighted Whale

Whether the whale now sighted in Wismar is an animal that had been seen before cannot yet be determined, a spokesperson for the German Oceanographic Museum said. They are monitoring the situation and are in close contact with the involved institutions. According to reports, sending their own staff to Wismar was not initially planned.

According to the Schwerin Ministry of the Environment, the whale appears to be vital based on current findings. "It regularly surfaces and dives again." The water police are on duty. "The goal of all measures is to enable the animal a low-disturbance return route to deeper waters and to prevent stranding or other dangers to the animal." Pleasure boat operators and water sports enthusiasts are asked to avoid contact with the animal and to keep the greatest possible distance.

Great Attention for "Timmy"

On March 3, a large whale, later identified as a humpback whale, appeared in Wismar. It later stranded several times, for example off Timmendorfer Strand and later off the island of Poel. In a spectacular but controversial operation, a private initiative initially recovered the whale using a kind of barge at the end of April and released it into the North Sea in early May. In mid-May, a dead whale was discovered off the Danish island of Anholt, which was later identified as the humpback whale previously stranded in Germany based on a transmitter attached to the animal. Many people, not only in Germany, followed the fate of the animal through extensive media coverage.