A dead whale has been discovered near the Danish island of Anholt , leading to speculation that it is Timmy, the humpback whale recently released into the North Sea. The discovery follows a massive £1.3 million private rescue operation intended to save the animal from its long-term stranding.

The £1.3 million mission led by Walter Gunz and Karin Walter-Mommert

The rescue of Timmy was a massive, privately funded undertaking driven by intense public interest in Germany. According to the report, the operation was financed by MediaMarkt co-founder Walter Gunz and horse racing entrepreneur Karin Walter-Mommert, who expressed a willingness to pay any cost required to free the mammal. The mission involvd using the Fortuna B ship to tow a water-filled barge,which successfully transported the whale from its position near Lübeck to the open sea on May 2.

While the whale was initially observed swimming and breathing after its release, the mission has faced heavy scrutiny. The rescue effort was a response to a national frenzy in Germany, where supporters even celebrated the whale with themed cakes and tattoos, despite warnings from marine experts that the animal's health was too compromised for such a move.

A 15-metre carcass spotted off the island of Anholt

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency recently revealed that a whale, estimated to be between 10 and 15 metres long, was found near Anholt. As the source reports, local authorities have warned residents to stay away from the animal due to the risk of the carcass exploding from gas accumulation or the transmission of diseases.

This discovery has fueled intense speculation that the carcass is indeed Timmy. The German Oceanographic Museum has already suggested that the whale likely did not survive the transition from the barge into the deep waters of the North Sea, especially following a period where tracking data became unvailable.

Scientific warnings from the IWC and Greenpeace

The decision to move Timmy was met with firce opposition from the international scientific community. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) described the rescue attempt as "inadvisable," noting that the whale appeared too severely compromised to survive the relocation.. This debate highlights a growing tension between high-profile private philanthropy and established marine conservation protocols.

Thilo Maack, a marine biologist at Greenpeace, had previously argued that the whale was simply seeking rest and that intervening was unnecessary. Similarly, Burkard Baschek, the director of the Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund, criticized the mission as "pure animal cruelty," suggesting that the most ethical path would have been to allow the animal to die naturally in its original location.

The mystery of the faulty GPS and Friday's tissue samples

Several critical questions remain regarding the exact moment of Timmy's death and whether the rescue mission actually aided or hindered the animal. While initial GPS signals suggested the whale was surfacing to breathe,experts now believe the transmitter may have been faulty and incapable of providing accurate signs of life. This technical failure has left a gap in the timeline of the whale's final days.

To resolve the uncertainty, tissue samples are scheduled to be taken from the carcass this Friday . These samples will be sent to researchers in Germany, where a formal investigation will be conducted to determine if the animal found near Anholt is the same humpback whale that was released earlier this month.