BERLIN (AP) — A whale that was stranded for days in shallow water at a Baltic Sea resort in Germany has swum free from a sandbank overnight after a last-ditch rescue effort. But it isn't out of danger yet.
An excavator spent Thursday digging an escape channel. The whale then swam through it overnight, marine biologist Robert Marc Lehmann said Friday, German news agency dpa reported.
But he cautioned that it was only a small step in the right direction for the marine mammal, which is 12-15 meters (39-49 feet) long, and that it will only really be at home again if it reaches the Atlantic Ocean.
The whale was spotted stuck on an underwater sandbank in Timmendorfer Strand, a popular resort town, on Monday morning. Initial efforts to free it and coax it back toward deeper water, including using coast guard and fire department boats to create large waves, were unsuccessful. The Baltic Sea lacks strong tides that could have freed the whale.
On Thursday morning, rescuers brought in excavators to dig a trench in front of the whale's head, while Lehmann approached the animal and guided the digging. They worked until well after sunset, but hadn't quite been able to get the whale out by the time they had to stop work for the night.
Early on Friday morning, the whale was on its way out of Lübeck Bay, where Timmendorfer Strand is located, said Stephanie Gross of the Institute of Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research. She said the massive mammal, which was about 300 meters (nearly 1,000 feet) off the coast, was being accompanied by a coast guard ship and several boats.
Experts assume that the whale is a young male, as males, unlike females, tend to migrate. It also appeared to be the same whale that was spotted several times in the port of Wismar, east of Timmendorfer Strand, in recent weeks.
It was not immediately clear why the whale was in the area and got stranded.
Humpback whales aren't native to the Baltic. This one faces a journey of several hundred kilometers (miles) through German and Danish waters if it is to reach the North Sea.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Islamic State group militants claim capture and execution of a Nigerian brigadier general - 2IDF strikes Hamas terror cell operating near Israeli troops in northern Gaza
- 3Lockheed Martin opens new hypersonic weapons facility
- 4Vote in favor of Your #1 sort of pie
- 5New movies to watch this weekend: See 'Predator: Badlands' in theaters, rent 'Black Phone 2,' stream Guillermo del Toro's 'Frankenstein' on Netflix
- Arctic sea ice hits lowest winter level as unprecedented heat hits smashes records all over Earth
- Moon rocket and weather are on NASA's side for the first astronaut launch in decades
- Israel launches new wave of attacks against Hezbollah in Beirut
- Figuring out the Business venture Code: The Response to Building an Effective Startup
- Airport wait times won't return to normal until Congress reaches a deal to pay TSA. Here's why they still can't come to an agreement.
- Vote In favor of Your #1 Method for diminishing Pressure
- How grandchildren are stepping up to fill the caregiver gap
- 'I carried my wife's body for an hour and a half' - BBC hears stories of protesters killed in Iran
- Is 'Stranger Things' releasing one last episode? The 'Conformity Gate' fan theory explained as speculation mounts.
