German rescuers on Tuesday hauled a stranded humpback whale into a special boat to carry it to deeper waters, in the latest attempt to free the cetacean whose ordeal has captured hearts in Germany for weeks.
The whale, dubbed “Timmy” by German media, and its struggle for survival have gripped the country since it beached on a sandbank near the city of Luebeck, far from its natural habitat in late March.
The latest rescue effort – financed by two entrepreneurs – involves transporting the sea mammal on a barge with a water-filled hold, which is usually used to carry other boats, from Germany’s Baltic Sea coast to deeper waters.
Starting earlier Tuesday, rescuers attached straps to the whale and heaved the creature down a channel that had been specially dug in the sand to allow it to reach the barge, close to the island of Poel.
After some distance, the whale, with rescuers swimming alongside it, sped up and then swam into the barge, sparking cheers of delight from the…
