Denmark to carry out autopsy on 'Timmy' whale found dead after successfully towed in North Sea
Danish authorities plan to remove the carcass of the humpback whale known as 'Timmy' from the waters off the island of Anholt to allow a post-mortem examination of the marine mammal to be carried out.
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency announced on Tuesday that the deceased animal is in shallow waters on a very popular beach and is very likely to cause significant disturbances for local residents and people who want to bathe in the sea, reports the German agency DPA, quoted by Agerpres.
A day earlier, on Monday, the Danish authorities had announced that there were no plans to move the whale's body, which attracted both curious and reckless people to the site. Some of the daredevils swam up to “Timmy” to get a closer look and even took pictures of themselves on his corpse, sparking a wave of outrage on the internet.
For this reason, the whale is to be recovered. “We are currently working on a solution that would allow, at the same time, an autopsy and the collection of valuable scientific evidence for research purposes,” said Jane Hansen, representative of the Environmental Protection Agency.
The agency stated that Danish researchers and veterinarians will be responsible for the recovery of the whale, the autopsy and the collection of samples.
“The Danish authorities are also in close contact with the German authorities regarding this situation, and there is ongoing coordination between the Danish and German research institutions,” Jane Hansen said in a statement.
The agency urged the public to keep their distance from the whale, as there could be a risk of infection.
The emaciated animal, which had washed ashore several times on Germany's Baltic coast, had been transported to the North Sea through the efforts of a private initiative more than two weeks ago, but was then washed up dead by the waves in the waters off the island of Anholt.
