Whale off Niendorf: New rescue attempts - Killing not an option

The humpback whale stranded off Niendorf continues to fight for survival. Since Monday night, the animal, which is around ten metres long, has been stranded on a sandbank in shallow water. All previous rescue attempts have been unsuccessful. On Tuesday, a suction dredger was supposed to dig the whale's way back into deeper water - but the attempt failed. Now the helpers are hoping for a larger dredger. Meanwhile, hundreds of onlookers flock to Niendorf.

Suction excavator fails on hard sand

On Tuesday, the helpers tried a new approach: a suction dredger was used to remove the sandy bottom around the whale in order to pave the way into deeper water. In order not to frighten the animal, the device was initially started at a distance and only brought closer with a police boat after a familiarisation phase. But the attempt failed: the sandy bottom proved to be too compact for the device. The operation had to be cancelled.

"We will try every option available to us that is somehow also practicable to save the animal's life," Timmendorfer Strand's mayor Sven Partheil-Böhnke told the ZDF lunchtime programme. A large suction dredger is now expected to arrive in Niendorf in the evening. It is supposed to clear a channel so that the whale has a chance to swim back into the open sea. However, it will also have to dredge against strong westerly winds, which will cause the water level to drop by several decimetres.

Salvage would massively endanger the humpback whale

The desire to free the animal from its agonising situation is obvious and increasingly loudly expressed. Unlike a ship, however, a humpback whale cannot simply be towed or salvaged without endangering it. Due to its enormous dead weight of an estimated 15 tonnes, enormous forces would be exerted on the body during a rescue or towing operation.

"The fluke, i.e. the hind flippers and also the pectoral fins, are not designed to pull the whale through the water with its entire body weight. There is simply a risk of damaging the joints and muscles," explained Dr Stephanie Groß from the Institute of Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW) at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover to the ZDF Mittagsmagazin. She has been looking after the humpback whale together with other experts and helpers since Monday. In addition, the whale already has damaged skin. "This means that if we attach any ropes to it, we will pull off its skin completely. And that's something we definitely don't want to do."

Feeding not possible

The idea of simply feeding the animal is also impractical. Humpback whales of this size need around 100 kilograms of food a day. However, they can only eat while moving, as Carsten Mannheimer from the Sea Shepherd organisation explains: "Whales swim and open their mouths. In doing so, the whole fish or phytoplankton swims into their mouths. This becomes entangled in the baleen, allowing the whale to extract the food." Simply throwing fish to the stranded whale will not work: "It will hardly open its mouth and eat the fish."

Killing is not an option

According to experts, killing the stranded whale to relieve it of possible suffering is also not an option. There are international agreements on what can be done and how, Ursula Siebert, head of the ITAW, told the news agency dpa.

"The bigger the whale, the more difficult the whole thing becomes," explains Siebert. We are confronted with this time and again - for example with sperm whale strandings in the Wadden Sea or strandings of other whale species in the North Sea. "And it is simply very, very difficult to euthanise a whale under the conditions we have here."

One problem is the use of weapons and the necessary calibres with potential hazards for the surrounding area. In view of the international agreements, there are few options in Germany, as well as in neighbouring countries. "It is better to ensure that sperm whales in particular can die in a dignified and stress-free manner," said Siebert.

The German Oceanographic Museum confirmed this to dpa. It is an extremely difficult situation in which local experts have to weigh up every measure and decision very carefully. "Euthanasia would be very difficult under the circumstances in Niendorf, as the whale is still in the water." Basically, the water is too shallow for the whale, but too deep for a targeted killing." In addition, there is no reliable method of euthanasia for such a large whale that can completely rule out further suffering."

When do you reach the point where you have to give up?

The whale is breathing, but is making no attempt to get off the sandbank, says Mannheimer from Sea Shepherd. "At some point, the experts will have to decide whether it makes sense to help this whale or not. And if they come to the conclusion that it doesn't make sense, then we just have to make sure that we leave it alone," he explains. Since the day of the stranding, various experts have expressed the fear that the animal may have deliberately sought out the sandbank because it was ill or exhausted - a behaviour that is frequently observed in large whales.

The Baltic Sea is not a natural habitat for humpback whales. The salt content in the water is too low and can damage the animals' skin. In addition, there is not enough food for the marine giants. Even if the whale could be freed, its chances of survival in the Baltic Sea would be rather slim.

It remains to be seen whether the new suction dredger attempt in the evening will be successful.

Hundreds of onlookers flock to Niendorf

Meanwhile, the beached whale is attracting more and more people. Hundreds of curious people gather on the beach in Niendorf every day, and the numbers are increasing. The police are calling on people not to obstruct the emergency services and to respect the barriers - in the interests of the animal.

In order not to expose the whale to unnecessary stress, the police have cordoned off the stretch of beach and the area around Niendorf harbour. The authorities are urgently appealing to onlookers not to approach the animal on land, at sea or from the air, for example with drones.

What has happened so far

The Humpback whale was spotted off Niendorf at around 1.50am on Monday nightafter a nearby hotel reported unusual noises. The animal, which is around ten metres long, has been stuck on a sandbank in shallow water ever since.

Since then, the stretch of beach in Niendorf in the municipality of Timmendorfer Strand has been cordoned off on a large scale. The police and fire brigade are in constant operation, supported by experts from the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW), the German Marine Foundation and a team from the marine conservation organisation Sea Shepherd. Schleswig-Holstein's Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt also visited the site to assess the situation.

Helpers tried to bring the whale into deeper water on Monday from midday until late at night - without success. In the afternoon, experts from the ITAW approached the animal with inflatable boats. The whale briefly turned its snout towards the open bay - but then strong waves came up and pushed it back onto the sandbank. Attempts by police boats to swim the animal free by creating waves were also unsuccessful. On Tuesday night, the whale was able to move slightly towards the shipping channel, but returned to the sandbank.

Probably the same whale as before

According to Sea Shepherd, the animal is a humpback whale, presumably a young male. It is believed to be the same animal that has been repeatedly spotted in the Baltic Sea for some time. It was discovered in Wismar harbour at the beginning of March, where emergency services largely freed it from a net. Last Friday, Sea Shepherd freed the whale from further net remnants off Travemünde. The remaining lines were removed by the Niendorf fire brigade on Monday.