Overview

• A juvenile male humpback was filmed slapping its tail fluke off Nonnevitz, Rügen, marking a rare appearance in Baltic waters.
• Judith Denkinger of the Deutsches Meeresmuseum says tail-fluke slapping is a common male communication display used to attract females.
• Humpbacks can cover up to 60 kilometers per day and normally feed in Arctic waters during summer before migrating south in autumn.
• This sighting follows a series of mis-migration incidents in 2025, including entanglements off Scotland and Poland and strandings near Minsener Oog and Sankt Peter-Ording.
• Observers are urged to keep their distance and avoid frontal approaches to prevent disturbing the whale’s migration path.