Overview
- Authorities and an expert from the Deutsches Meeresmuseum confirmed the whale was found lifeless in the Greifswalder Bodden and reported to the Wasserschutzpolizei on Thursday, August 13.
- The carcass was towed to the Nautineum on the island Dänholm, lifted ashore with a crane and examined by a team of scientists who measured it at about ten metres and seven tonnes.
- Initial autopsy findings recorded no obvious injuries from propellers or nets but identified a poor nutritional state, and tissue samples have been sent for laboratory analysis with results expected in the coming days to early next week.
- Officials are still verifying whether the carcass is the same animal seen in repeated sightings along the German and Polish Baltic coasts by comparing photos and distinctive marks such as the tail fluke.
- Experts say large whales rarely enter the low‑salinity Baltic and that recovering Atlantic humpback numbers may raise the incidence of 'irrläufer' into the sea, a trend that, together with the spring 'Timmy' case, is prompting reviews of monitoring, rescue logistics and policy.