Dead whale spotted off the coast of Denmark

A whale has reportedly been spotted off the Danish island of Anholt, with the local  Danish Environmental Protection Agency believing it has been dead for some time, according to Danish media.

The animal is believed to be a stranded humpback some 10 to 15 meters (about 33 to 50 feet) long, Danish media reported, inviting speculation over whether it could be Timmy the humpback whale.

It was sighted about 75 meters off the coast of Anholt. Officials said they plan to retrieve the whale on Friday. 

For weeks, Timmy kept getting himself stranded off the German coast after many successful attempts to set him free, until a final rescue mission guided him to the North Sea.

What do we know about Timmy the whale?

The young humpback, nicknamed Timmy by German media, was first spotted swimming near Germany's Baltic Coast on March 3, far from its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean.

This was followed by a series of stranding events, with its health deteriorating the longer it stayed in the shallow waters.

German authorities had given up on saving the 12-meter marine mammal, believed to be 4 to 6 years old, in early April.

But after public pressure, a private company convinced local authorities of a final rescue plan that involved coaxing the whale into a barge and towing it to the North Sea, after an initial attempt using inflatable cushions and pontoons proved unsuccessful.

What did Timmy's final rescue mission involve?

The young animal survived a days-long journey from the German coast until it was released around 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) off the coast of Denmark earlier in May.

Some scientists warned that this latest attempt may be too much for the animal, explaining that its health had badly deteriorated due to the multiple strandings and staying in shallow waters for nearly two months.

Commenting earlier on the possibility of the whale stranding on Danish shores, the Danish Environment Ministry said it was not planning any rescue efforts, noting that beaching is a "completely natural phenomenon," and whales are not to be "saved or disturbed by human intervention."

Edited by: Sean Sinico