'Highly explosive' whale Timmy to be towed out to sea
Euronews • • world
Key Points:
- A dead humpback whale stranded off Denmark's Anholt island is at risk of exploding due to gas buildup inside its decomposing body, prompting authorities to urgently tow it away from shore to open water.
- The whale's swollen carcass has expanded over days, leading officials to seal off a large beach area and plan a risky operation using ropes to drag the whale into deeper waters to prevent an uncontrolled explosion near the coast.
- After removal, the whale will be transported to Grenaa for a post-mortem examination by experts to better understand the circumstances surrounding its death.
- Originally identified as a young male named "Timmy," recent expert analysis suggests the whale is likely female, based on visible anatomical features such as mammary slits and lack of a protruding penis post-mortem.
- The whale had stranded multiple times in the Baltic Sea before a rescue operation attempted to guide it back to the North Sea, but a failed tracking device led to its whereabouts becoming unknown until the dead whale was found near Anholt.