Dead humpback whale "Timmy" is at risk of exploding off Denmark's coast. Authorities plan to tow the carcass out to sea, a risky operation.
Time is of the essence: the whale off the Danish coast is in danger of exploding. The dead animal was originally supposed to be brought ashore, but Denmark’s environment and nature agency and the coastal rescue service have now decided to tow the carcass out into the open sea as quickly as possible. Timmy’s carcass has become increasingly bloated in recent days because of the putrefaction gases in the body.
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A stretch of beach on Anholt has been cordoned off over a wide area. The dead whale is drawing crowds of onlookers and journalists. A resident of Anholt told reporters from Danish TV channel TV2 Østjylland that the dead humpback whale Timmy had moved by around 10 metres on Wednesday.
The Danish authorities’ plan is as follows: they intend to pull the carcass into open water using ropes to prevent an uncontrolled explosion near the shore. The operation is not without danger; there is a risk that the carcass could tear apart or explode, putting the emergency crews at risk.
Is Timmy actually a female whale?
The private rescue initiative from Germany had stated that the stranded whale was a young male. The press also reported this, and the animal was promptly christened Timmy, while some whale fans also called him Hope, meaning hope.
Footage of the whale’s carcass now appears to show that Timmy was not a male but a female. Whale expert Fabian Ritter told t-online on Wednesday he was ‘95 to 100 per cent’ sure. Ritter bases this conclusion on two details: in a male whale, after death the penis would slip out of the genital slit as the muscles relax. In the dead humpback whale off the Danish coast, two additional slits can be seen next to the genital opening. These are mammary slits, through which female whales feed their young with milk.
Controversial rescue operation
The whale, still known as Timmy, was spotted in the Baltic Sea at the end of March and stranded several times. In a complex rescue operation involving a tug and a barge, the animal was released into the North Sea at the end of April. The tracker that had been attached did not work properly, so it was not clear what had become of him. Then came the sad certainty for Timmy’s fans: he had not survived. A dead humpback whale off the Danish island of Anholt was identified as Timmy.
