Humpback Whale in Critical Condition After Repeated Strandings in Wismar Bay

A critically weakened humpback whale remained stranded in shallow water in Wismar Bay on Sunday, March 29, after freeing itself overnight from a sandbank only to run aground again roughly 800 meters away near Redentin on the German Baltic Sea coast. Marine researcher Burkard Baschek, director of the German Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund, told reporters at a Sunday afternoon press conference in Wismar that the animal's condition had deteriorated significantly since Saturday. „The prognosis does not look good overall” — Burkard Baschek via Norddeutscher Rundfunk The whale, measuring approximately 12 to 15 meters in length, was lying in water roughly two meters deep — technically sufficient depth for it to free itself, according to Baschek, yet the animal was making no attempts to do so. Greenpeace marine biologist Thilo Maack, who approached the whale by inflatable boat, reported that the animal was extremely weakened and its skin was "extremely damaged." „The whale must now get free very quickly so that it still has any chance at all” — Thilo Maack via Der Tagesspiegel

Gentle nudging replaces dredgers as rescue strategy shifts Rescue teams opted for a cautious, low-impact approach on Sunday, abandoning heavy machinery in favor of carefully nudging the whale with a small boat to encourage it toward deeper water. Greenpeace spokeswoman Daniela von Schaper explained to the German newspaper Bild that the already weakened animal needed to be spared additional stress. The decision contrasted with the method used days earlier at Timmendorfer Strand, where a floating dredger had dug a channel through a sandbank, allowing the whale to swim free. Experts noted that the current sandbank in Wismar Bay was significantly smaller, making such an intervention unnecessary. Stefanie Groß from the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research said the whale was significantly less active and barely reacted when approached by inflatable boat. Observers also reported that the whale's sounds appeared weak and plaintive, in some cases resembling a cough. An NDR reporter at the Wendorf pier noted that a passing cargo freighter had added to the animal's stress, as underwater noise levels in the shipping lane were considerable.

Whale's week-long Baltic ordeal traced through multiple strandings The whale had been causing concern along the German Baltic coast since early March, when it first appeared in the port of Wismar and became entangled in a net, from which emergency crews and conservationists from Sea Shepherd freed it. It was initially misidentified as a fin whale before being confirmed as a humpback. The animal subsequently stranded on a sandbank off Timmendorfer Strand, where it remained for several days while helpers attempted to coax it free using noise — honking, drumming, and shouting — before it unexpectedly freed itself through the dredger-cut channel during the night into Friday. It then swam roughly several dozen kilometers eastward from Lübeck Bay toward Mecklenburg, staying close to the coast, before stranding again in Wismar Bay on Saturday afternoon, south of the uninhabited bird sanctuary island known as Walfisch. Rising water levels overnight allowed it to free itself once more, but instead of heading northwest toward the North Sea and the open Atlantic, the whale moved southeast and ran aground again near Redentin, approximately 800 meters from its previous position.

Humpback whale strandings — Baltic Sea, March 2026: — ; — ; — ; — ; —

Minister addresses exclusion row, stresses institutional cooperation Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Agriculture and Environment Minister Till Backhaus held a press conference on Sunday to address both the whale's condition and a public controversy surrounding the rescue operation. Backhaus confirmed that the state maintained a formal contractual cooperation with the Sea Museum in Stralsund and with ITAW as the lead scientific partners. The controversy centered on Robert Marc Lehmann, a German marine biologist and social media influencer who had participated in earlier relief operations in Niendorf in Lübeck Bay but had not been included in the current Wismar Bay effort. Backhaus moved to defuse the situation, saying he intended to speak with Lehmann personally and that the state was seeking his cooperation. „We have not excluded anyone, and based on what I have heard and seen online, I have decided to have a personal conversation with him. We are seeking cooperation” — Till Backhaus via tagesschau.de Backhaus also praised all those involved in the operation. The Environment Ministry said it was still operating under the assumption that the whale was moving eastward, though experts noted that to return to the North Sea and the Atlantic, the animal would need to swim north — the opposite direction from its observed movement pattern.