Humpback Whale Breaks Free from Sandbank

0:00A massive humpback whale has broken free from a sandbank off a German Baltic Sea resort after days of being stuck. The creature, measuring 12 to 15 meters long, swam through a rescue trench dud by an excavator overnight, Thursday into Friday. Marine experts call it a promising first step, but the whale still faces a tough road ahead. Rescuers first spotted the whale Monday morning near Timindor for Strand, a busy beach town. Many attempts using coast guard and fireboats to push it with waves failed, since the Baltic lack strong tides to help. On Thursday, they brought in heavy machinery to carve an escape path right in front of the whale's head, working late into the night. Local biologists, led by Robert Mark Lehman, guided the effort up close. They believe it's a young male humpback, based on its wandering habits. Males roam more than females. The same whale had been seen weeks earlier in the nearby port of Wismar, adding to the mystery of how it ended up in these shallow waters.

1:01Experts aren't sure what drew the whale this far inland, as humpbacks aren't common in the Baltic. Now free from the sandbank, it must navigate several hundred kilometers through German and Danish waters to reach the North Sea, and eventually the Atlantic, where it truly belongs. Researchers remain on alert, monitoring its path closely, in hopes it finds its way home safely. That wraps Canada News today, brought to you with AI.