00:00The window of time to save a young humpback whale stuck in the shallow bays off the Baltic
00:06coast of Germany is running out. A week-long ordeal has put the survival of the 40 to 50
00:11foot mammal named Timmy in doubt as of Monday. Rescuers are using dredging equipment and boats
00:18to guide the whale back onto a long route to the Atlantic. But Burkhard Baschek, scientific
00:24director of the German Oceanographic Museum, says ultimately it is up to the whale to make it out
00:30on its own. It's not about pulling the whale into deeper water. It's solely about whether the whale
00:35is fit enough to move its fins and swim on its own. And for that, it needs strength. It gets
00:40strength
00:40either from food, which is impossible, or from rest. And that's why we've given it rest. Those
00:45are the options we have. That means minimal impact and hopefully maximum success. As slim as the
00:51chances are we're trying to make the most of them. Baschek said further options would be discussed
00:57if the animal is unable to free itself. But said they were not at that point yet.
01:04Repeated rescue attempts have failed, with Greenpeace and its partners documenting the whale in distress,
01:10with skin irritation and fishing gear entangled in its mouth. Over the weekend, there were brief
01:15glimmers of hope when the whale managed to free itself twice before running into difficulty again.
01:21humpback whales are not native to the Baltic Sea. Conservationists say disrupted migration routes
01:27and human influence play a role in whale strandings worldwide, but they can also become disoriented
01:33while searching for food.
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