German rescuers race to save humpback whale stranded off Baltic Sea beach | CNN

Rescue crews in northern Germany are working to save a humpback whale that has become stranded in shallow water off the Baltic Sea coast in Lübeck Bay, according to CNN affiliate RTL. The whale was discovered early Monday in the Niendorf district of Timmendorfer Strand, RTL reported, and authorities began an effort to guide it back to deeper water. Police said they intended to use “every possible means” to help the animal reach a point where it can swim away again. Video published by RTL showed rescuers attempting to move the whale toward open water, but the initial efforts were unsuccessful. Experts from the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW) in Büsum have been deployed to the scene. Officials believe the stranded whale may be the same animal that has been repeatedly sighted in the Baltic Sea in recent weeks. The whale is estimated to be 12 to 15 meters long and weigh about 15 tons, ITAW told CNN affiliate ZDF. It was first spotted at the beginning of the month in Wismar harbor, where emergency services largely freed it from a fishing net in which it had become entangled, RTL reported. A humpback whale is stuck in shallow waters off the coast of n