Final steps taken before audacious plan to tow whale stranded in Germany to North Sea | Germany

Final preparations are reportedly underway for a millionaire-funded plan to lure a diseased humpback whale to the North Sea.

The 12-tonne whale, nicknamed Timmy, has been stranded on the Baltic Sea coast for almost a month. A barge resembling a giant steel aquarium will attempt to carry Timmy 400 km (248 miles) towards the North Sea and then return to the Atlantic Ocean from where he is believed to have come from.

The mission, known as Operation Pillow, is scheduled to begin Tuesday. Rescuers said Sunday that the animal was positioned in the correct direction in the water.

“[It] interesting, it turned 90 degrees and in the right direction. He appears to be mentally and emotionally preparing himself for departure, the state’s environment minister, Till Backhaus, told the Bild newspaper.

The newspaper, along with local media outlets, is running a live blog about the whale’s progress, broadcasting live from where the whale has been lying in shallow waters for several weeks.

The animal, first seen in the Baltic Sea last month, possibly chasing schools of herring, has been lying in the mud off the island of Poel in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern for more than three weeks. The water contains too little salt to sustain it.

After experts, including leading marine biologists, said the whale was dying and that a rescue operation would only stress the animal and certainly not help it, a private initiative funded by two prominent millionaires was launched, outshining local politicians.

The initiative plans to lift the 30-meter-long whale with airbags, stretch a net underneath it and hang it on a pontoon structure. The pontoon will then be towed into deeper waters by a tugboat.

The whale’s plight attracted hundreds of spectators, including tourists from all over Europe who came to Poel to watch the spectacle. Many camp nearby in cars or caravans. Many people who described themselves as supporters swam within meters of the whale in the cold sea to get closer to him before he was rescued by water police.

Rescue efforts involved local fire crews spraying the whale with water to keep it hydrated, and finally individuals repeatedly pouring buckets of water over its back. Hundreds of kilograms of zinc ointment were reportedly applied to his back and cloths were used to help treat the sores on his blistered skin.

But critics say the team effectively involved in the latest rescue had little experience and accuse them of trying to manipulate the situation politically.

Burkard Baschek, director of the Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund, who until recently was the state government’s chief adviser until the decision was made to let the whale die peacefully, said he believed rescue efforts would be in vain. “The rescue effort is no longer worthwhile,” he told Die Zeit. “This has also been confirmed many times by our international colleagues.”

Baschek said a report compiled by his colleagues still stands. It is stated that the whale’s lethargic behavior clearly indicates serious health problems. It is thought that the fishing net caught in his mouth is still there and impossible to remove. Its skin is covered with blister-like spots. If whales are stranded repeatedly like this one, the prognosis is “very poor,” Baschek said. He stated that it was wrong to continue rescuing her, calling it “pure animal cruelty”.

Environment Minister Backhaus, who said the whale had grown up close to its heart, said he supported the new initiative’s attempts to save it, having previously said there was no hope for it.

He denies claims that he supports the initiative because the state faces what is expected to be a hotly contested election between the Social Democrats and the far-right AfD party in September, and images of dead whales in the bay could have dire consequences for his party.

Backhaus was placed under extra police protection after receiving threats from members of the public who accused him and his team of giving up on the whale too quickly. “I will not be blackmailed,” he told Die Zeit.

The same critics accused the museum’s scientists of wanting the whale dead so they could secure its skeleton for his museum and “make millions.” The museum denies this.

Başçek called the police after receiving threats on social media such as “May the seagulls tear you apart” and “May you suffer like whales.”

During an investigation into the team behind the latest attempts to save the whale, Die Zeit said it uncovered a group of people representing far-right interests, esoteric methodology and conspiracy theories, and with links to the Querdenker anti-coronavirus quarantine movement.

The group claimed that together they could create an aura that would reach the whale and help save it. They flew from as far away as Peru and Hawaii to support the effort. A participating veterinarian from Hawaii wrote on Instagram before landing in Germany: “Big fuck you” to the scientists involved in the original efforts.

“It is as if the conspiracy theorists of the coronavirus pandemic have now taken over the role of the public health department. [efforts to save the whale] In the Bay of Poel,” wrote Die Zeit.

The group is financed by two extremely wealthy individuals: equestrian expert Karin Walter-Mommert and Walter Gunz, the former co-founder of a German electronics retailer chain. The couple stated that they wanted to save the whale at all costs.

Backhaus said the duo also took full legal responsibility for the rescue operation. “They also made it clear that they demand broad freedom of decision-making on this issue,” he said.