A humpback whale struggling in shallow waters off Germany's northern Baltic Sea coast has become stranded for a third time, experts said on Sunday, just hours after the animal had freed itself from a sandbank. The 13.5-metre (44-foot) long mammal was first spotted in the early hours of Monday on a sandbank near the city of Luebeck. Water levels are also expected to drop by about 40 centimetres in the early hours of Monday morning. "If the whale doesn't free itself in the next few hours, its overall situation will worsen," said Baschek. Experts had hoped the whale would return to its natural habitat in the Atlantic through the North Sea.

Source: The Local March 29, 2026 16:22 UTC