Humpback whale 'Timmy' presumed male by German media found to be female during necropsy

An SPD state minister had known it beforehand: the "autopsy" of the Timmy whale carcass that washed up off Denmark revealed groundbreaking non-discoveries.

June 5, 2026 | 1:32 p.m.

Hurray, it was a girl: Timmy on the beach in Anholt before he was taken apart. Photo: Kai Moorschlatt/dpa

By Rainer Rutz dpa/afp/taz

The Germans are not spared any embarrassment. For weeks, half the nation was captivated by a humpback whale, which Bild — as the central organ of humpback whale support — gave the male name Timmy. Now it is clear: Timmy was by no means male, but a whale cow — a female.

The whale was stranded off the Baltic Sea coast in March, was released into the open sea at the beginning of May after a so-called rescue [https://taz.de/Nachruf-Buckelwal-Timmy/!6167989/], and resurfaced a good two weeks later off the Danish island of Anholt as a carcass. Late on Thursday evening, the decomposing animal was examined by veterinarians and whale experts for several hours. A cervix was then discovered.

Otherwise, the cadaver examination — celebrated by the tabloids as an "autopsy" — mainly produced groundbreaking non-discoveries. It was reported that no injury could be seen, but this was also due to the decomposition. Parasites were also found, but they still need to be precisely determined, and they are not responsible for the death of the marine mammal.

In addition, Timmy had not been pregnant in the last few months. When experts looked into the whale's mouth and stomach, no nets or other objects were found, explained veterinary doctor Tim Jensen from the University of Copenhagen. The team of experts was initially unable to determine a clear cause of death.

No Explosion, But a Smell

By Friday morning, there wasn't much to see of the previous day's spectacle on Anholt beach. All of the animal's remains have been removed from the beach, TV2 reported, citing the Danish Environment Agency. Now comes the last step on the holiday island: the removal of the remains. The containers with the remains are scheduled to be picked up at the beginning of next week.

The Timmy carcass had been lying off the holiday island for three weeks and was badly bloated by putrefactive gases, being mauled by seagulls. Accordingly, the cow inspection was not for the faint of heart. Nevertheless, as the gender confusers from Bild noted, "many onlookers" were there "to follow the gruesome events." But Timmy didn't even explode, as sometimes feared — it just spread a stink.

Even SPD Ministers Can Be Wrong

The State Environment Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Till Backhaus, warned in advance of limited results from the "autopsy." The SPD politician had been involved in the rescue attempts for the animal for a long time and had formed a particularly close relationship with it. When the whale was still lying off the island of Poel — and thus in Backhaus' sphere of influence — he claimed that he had looked the whale in the eyes and was communicating with it.

On Thursday, Backhaus half-correctly predicted that due to the condition of the carcass, "individual findings will only be detected to a limited extent or will no longer be detected at all." At most, the examination could serve to "answer open questions about his state of health, possible previous illnesses and the causes of his death."

The minister's affection for Timmy — he called her "Hope" — seems to have cooled down a bit, and has been for a long time. After the whale cow's "release" and subsequent death, Backhaus dryly stated that "the animal had one last chance" to "regain freedom and health." But it just didn't take advantage of its chance.

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