A humpback whale has currently found a new home in the Baltic Sea. But the environment is not suitable for the animal.
Kiel — The rare excursion of a larger humpback whale along the German Baltic Sea coast is currently causing a stir. The animal was first spotted off the coast of Sweden on April 1st. The approximately 12-meter-long whale then apparently continued its journey south. The Schleswig-Holstein Nature Conservation Association (NABU) assumes that the animal eventually made its way from the North Sea through the Kattegat into the Baltic Sea.
On Wednesday (April 10th) it was spotted in a harbor in the Kiel Fjord near Kiel. The whale had previously been seen in the Flensburg Fjord, the Flensburg Harbor and the Eckernförde Bay. Sailing instructor Jan Philip Leon from the Hanseatic Yacht School in Glücksburg was only a few meters away from the whale and was even able to film it: “That was very impressive. “You don’t see that every day,” explained the sailing instructor in an interview.
Second whale discovered in Baltic Sea
But that's not all: there is also a second whale in the Baltic Sea at the same time. According to NABU, two officers on a ferry off the German Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn also observed a whale. The humpback whale was proven to be in the Flensburg harbor at that time. It is still unclear whether the animal is also a humpback whale.
The head of the NABU Baltic Sea Protection Office, Dagmar Struß, explained to the
NDR
: “We will be curious to see whether this second whale appears again somewhere.” Several dead fire jellyfish were recently spotted on a Baltic Sea beach. Experts say warming seas are to blame.
Concern for humpback whales: Nature conservation urges people to keep their distance
However, according to Struß, the Baltic Sea is not a suitable environment for the animals. She therefore hopes that the animal will soon leave the Baltic Sea. In addition to the noisy and polluted environment, fishing nets also pose a great danger to the whales. People should therefore try to keep their distance from the whales and minimize noise.
On the NABU website, Struß writes: “Fast motorboats cause underwater noise that is unpleasant or even damaging to hearing. We ask that you do not exceed 10 knots.” There is also concern that the whales will starve due to extensive overfishing in the Baltic Sea.
Despite the poor conditions, whales still occasionally get lost in the North and Baltic Seas. In 2014, for example, one or possibly two whales were spotted in the Flensburg Fjord. Two years later, a humpback whale even stayed in the Greifswald Bodden for several months.
(jus/dpa/afp)