Overview
- Museum experts in Stralsund, who spoke Tuesday, said the whale is most likely dead and noted there has been no verified tracking since the May 2 release.
- A privately funded team moved the weakened juvenile in a water‑filled barge and released it about 70 kilometers off Skagen, Denmark, on Saturday morning.
- GPS tags were reportedly attached to the animal, yet signals have been inconsistent or unverifiable, and scientists are urging volunteers to share the raw data.
- Marine scientists, the International Whaling Commission, and Greenpeace had warned the transfer was inadvisable because the whale appeared severely compromised.
- The effort, bankrolled by millionaires Walter Gunz and Karin Walter‑Mommert for about £1.3 million, followed weeks of strandings in the low‑salinity Baltic that can damage humpbacks’ skin and weaken them.