BERLIN, April 28 (Reuters) - An attempt to remove a stranded humpback whale from shallow waters off Germany's Baltic coast began on Tuesday, after four weeks of intense public debate over the best way to help the animal the public has named Timmy.
The juvenile male will be guided through a newly dredged channel onto a water-filled barge normally used to transport ships before heading to the North Sea, according to organisers of a private rescue initiative cited by local media.
They say they believe the whale is fit to be transported, but specialists from the German Oceanographic Museum have voiced doubt.
"The chances of a successful rescue are very slim due to the animal's poor state of health and the generally poor prognosis," the museum said in a statement.
The attempt would mean a "great deal of stress and a high risk of injury" to the whale and "would result in very high noise levels inside the barge due to the high level of sound reflection," it added.
TWO MILLIONAIRES HAVE FUNDED THE RESCUE
The rescue is funded by two millionaires, one of whom is linked to German electronics retail chain MediaMarkt.
Constanze von der Meden, a spokesperson for the rescue mission, did not respond to a request for comment.
The cost of the operation has not been made public.
Timmy, named after Timmendorfer beach, which is near the Baltic island where he has been stranded, was first spotted around a month ago in low-saline waters, which whales usually avoid. Scientists have said the location suggested the animal was disoriented or ill.
In the weeks that followed, the whale repeatedly ran aground on sandbanks.
PUBLIC OFFICIALS HAVE DEFENDED THEIR STRATEGY
Officials in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania said their strategy had focused on minimising stress, rejecting public calls for the whale to be euthanised to end its suffering.
Members of the public have sent thousands of emails to authorities, some containing death threats. State Environment Minister Till Backhaus said criminal complaints would be filed as necessary.
Activists and other people interested in the case have started setting up camp close to the rescue site.
Once hunted by humans to the brink of extinction, numbers of humpback whales have recovered and the species is at low risk of extinction, although two subpopulations are still classified as endangered.
(Reporting by Friederike Heine; editing by Matthias Williams and Barbara Lewis)
