ANHOLT, Denmark — The humpback whale’s carcass, which attracted widespread public attention for months after repeatedly becoming stranded in the Baltic Sea, was hauled onto a Danish beach on Saturday, ending a two‑week period during which the body had remained in shallow water.
The animal was popularly known as “Timmy” and “Hope,” and German media outlets repeatedly issued push notifications and updated live blogs on its condition since its initial sighting off the German coast on March 3.
The whale was discovered dead on May 14, having become stranded off the small island of Anholt in the Kattegat—a wide strait separating Denmark and Sweden that links the Baltic Sea to the North Sea.
The death concluded a months‑long, high‑profile and contentious rescue operation that reached its peak on May 2, when the whale was moved onto a barge and taken toward the North Sea in a last‑ditch attempt to return it to its Atlantic habitat.
The agency says the carcass will be examined next week to ascertain the cause of death.
It remains unclear why the whale entered the Baltic Sea—a region far from its usual habitat and unsuitable for its species—though some experts suggest it may have become disoriented while following a herring shoal or during migration.