A dead humpback whale stranded off the Danish island of Anholt is at risk of exploding because of gases building up inside the decomposing body, prompting authorities to launch an urgent operation to move the carcass away from shore.
Denmark’s environmental and nature agency together with the coastal rescue service decided to tow the whale out to open water after the animal’s swollen body continued to expand over recent days.
A large stretch of beach on Anholt has been sealed off as crowds of onlookers and journalists gathered near the site. A local resident told Danish broadcaster TV2 Østjylland that the carcass had shifted by around ten metres on Wednesday.
Officials plan to use ropes to drag the whale into deeper waters to reduce the risk of an uncontrolled explosion close to the coast. The operation itself is considered dangerous because the carcass could rupture during the recovery effort.
According to Danish media reports, the whale will later be transported to the port town of Grenaa, where experts are expected to carry out a post-mortem examination.
Is Timmy actually a female whale?
The whale had become widely known as “Timmy” after a German rescue initiative identified the stranded animal as a young male. Some whale supporters, however, referred to the animal as “Hope”.
Recent footage of the carcass has raised doubts about that assessment. Whale expert Fabian Ritter told t-online he was “95 to 100 per cent” certain the whale was female.
Ritter said that in male whales, the penis typically protrudes from the genital slit after death because the muscles relax. He also pointed to two visible slits beside the genital opening, which he identified as mammary slits used by female whales to nurse calves.
Controversial rescue operation
The whale was first spotted in the Baltic Sea at the end of March and stranded multiple times before rescuers launched a major operation involving a tugboat and barge to guide it back into the North Sea in late April.
However, the tracking device attached to the whale reportedly failed, leaving its whereabouts unknown until a dead humpback whale discovered near Anholt was later identified as Timmy.
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