Rescuers help Timmy, a stranded whale, return home

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Rescuers help Timmy, a stranded whale, return home Rescuers defy warnings as the stranded "Humpback Hope," also known in German media as Timmy, is carried by barge into the North Sea, racing against time to save her. World Rescuers help Timmy, a stranded whale, return home May 4, 20264:41 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition Rob Schmitz Rescuers help Timmy, a stranded whale, return home Listen &middot; 2:16 2:16 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5807511/nx-s1-9755194" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Rescuers defy warnings as the stranded "Humpback Hope," also known in German media as Timmy, is carried by barge into the North Sea, racing against time to save her. Sponsor Message MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: A humpback whale that was stranded off the coast of Germany is back in his natural habitat. NPR's Rob Schmitz reports from Berlin on the controversial human intervention that got him there.

+ ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE: In late March, the 40-foot-long young adult whale injured from being entangled in a fishing net became stuck in the shallow waters off Germany's Baltic coast, prompting scientists to try and free it. But then the hapless humpback, which the German media nicknamed Timmy, swam further into the Baltic Sea, a body of water where humpbacks rarely venture. And it got stuck again and again over the course of a month, prompting an intense social media debate in Germany. At one point, police had to investigate threats of violence from social media influencers against scientists who were strategizing what to do about Timmy. One of those scientists, Burkard Baschek of the German Oceanographic Museum, told NPR at the time that his team thought it might be better to let Timmy die. BURKARD BASCHEK: And if you just look from the pure nature perspective itself, then the whales that sort of get lost in the Baltic Sea and don't get out and die at the end - that's part of the natural process. And the rescue missions, per se, are interfering with the natural course. SCHMITZ: But then two German business moguls stepped in. They donated millions of dollars to an effort to coax Timmy into a water-filled barge that was half the length of a football field. (CHEERING) SCHMITZ: Amazingly, the 26,000-pound Timmy swam into the barge last week, and the barge was then towed out of the Baltic Sea around the northern tip of Denmark. On Saturday, Timmy was released into the deep waters of the North Sea. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) UNIDENTIFIED BROADCASTER: (Speaking German). SCHMITZ: A German broadcaster gushed over Timmy's newfound freedom as cameras captured mist being shot out of the whale's blowhole. Scientist Baschek says Timmy's survival is far from guaranteed. He says the whale is weakened by weeks of immobility and a skin disease from the low salinity of the Baltic Sea. Timmy was last seen more than 40 miles off the coast of Denmark, and if he gets stuck again, the Danish Environment Ministry says it is not planning any more rescue efforts. Rob Schmitz, NPR News, Berlin. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1168:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(321)},321:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(82)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1141),c(116),c(95),c(52),c(492),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1142),c(144),c(1143),c(238),c(48),c(1144)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1168,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();