A humpback whale stranded for six days off Germany’s Baltic coast has freed itself and is heading back to sea, though it remains at risk of re-stranding.
BERLIN: A humpback whale stranded on a sandbank off Germany’s Baltic coast has freed itself and was heading back out to sea but remains at risk of becoming trapped again.
The 13.5-metre-long mammal spent six days struggling on sandbanks in Lubeck bay, with vets fearing for its health as the ordeal continued.
It initially freed itself from a first sandbank on Friday after a mechanical digger set up an escape route, only to become trapped again on another.
Rising waters in the bay helped the whale a second time, allowing it to start swimming away late on Saturday, according to a regional government spokesman.
A German maritime police vessel is now tracking the whale as it could become trapped again in the bay’s shallow waters.
Police have kept tourist boats away from the animal to avoid adding to its stress during the incident.
Experts hope the whale will now return to its natural habitat in the Atlantic via the North Sea.
Humpbacks are rarely seen in the Baltic, with experts suggesting it may have been following a shoal of fish or been distracted by submarine noise.