<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Timmy, the young humpback whale who was stranded for weeks in shallow waters, has been found dead just off Denmark's coast, according to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, just </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/humpback-whale-timmy-released-in-the-north-sea-after-weeks-stranded-off-germany/b08db51c-78b0-429f-b10b-a455a8344c7d" rel="" target="" title="weeks after a controversial rescue effort set him free."><span>weeks after a controversial rescue effort set him free.</span></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The stranded humpback whale near Anholt is the same whale that was previously stranded in Germany and was the subject of rescue attempts," Jane Hansen, head of division at the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, told CNN on Saturday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The agency confirmed the whale's identity after one of its workers found and retrieved the faulty tracking device that had been attached to him during his rescue attempt.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>WORLD:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/ebola-outbreak-who-declares-global-health-emergency-over-outbreak-in-congo-and-uganda/ff09de90-acae-434b-a102-87eea224d46f" target="_blank"><strong><span>Health experts 'very alarmed' as deadly virus breaks containment</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-politics-live-updates-donald-trump-iran-deal-may-18-iran-israel-middle-east-war-blog-rolling-updates/d6095f36-8d4c-426c-894f-cb7c5216861c" target="_blank"><strong><span>Senator says Trump 'stupid enough' to fight Israel's war</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The position and appearance of the device confirm that this is the same whale that had previously been observed and handled in German waters," Hansen said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Timmy was found on Friday near the island of Anholt – situated in the Kattegat Strait between Denmark and Sweden, about 130 kilometres from where he was released.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/timmy-the-whale-found-dead/2168a74b-b27f-431b-9395-3472ce62f214" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was first spotted at the beginning of March in Wismar harbor, entangled in a fishing net, and had to be freed by emergency services.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Then, he became stranded at the end of March when he got lost in shallow water near Timmendorfer Strand, a town on Germany's north coast that gave him his nickname.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That prompted an extensive rescue effort, and widespread media coverage as the whale's ordeal was livestreamed around the world.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>STATE OF ORIGIN LIVE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.nine.com.au/sport/nrl/state-of-origin/2026-teams-game-one-live-news-predictions-round-11-updates-nsw-blues-qld-maroons-predictions-confirmed-lists-20260515-p5zxu4.html" target="_blank"><strong><span>Ten debutants named as Blues and Maroons make gambles</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But rescuers could not free the whale, and as his health declined, they stopped their efforts.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, another privately funded rescue attempt, which directed Timmy to swim into a barge before shipping him out into the open sea, pressed ahead despite warnings from scientists that the whale was too weak to survive.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>During the time he was stranded, he spent days barely moving, breathing irregularly and suffering from a bad skin condition caused by the Baltic Sea's low salt content.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Such warnings meant the rescue became mired in controversy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>WATCH:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/fighter-jets-collide-us-air-force-base-air-show-idaho/27e0ff43-7d41-4a9a-b810-a82dd0b0ffe4" target="_blank"><strong><span>Horror moment fighter jets collide mid-air</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>To its critics, it represented a form of animal cruelty, causing the whale severe stress for no reason.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I believe the whale will die very soon now," Thilo Maack, a marine biologist for Greenpeace, told the Associated Press in April as rescuers tried to set Timmy free.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And I would also like to raise the question: What is actually so bad about that? … Yes, animals live, animals die. This animal is really, really very, very, very sick. And it has decided to seek rest."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>NATIONAL:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/federal-politics-australia-new-budget-poll-reveals-mixed-verdict-for-anthony-albanese-angus-taylor/87438a42-390b-4a9c-9c96-5fe1b52e07b7" target="_blank"><strong><span>Taylor edges ahead of Albanese as preferred PM after 'difficult' Budget</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But to others, like the province's environment minister, Till Backhaus, who allowed the private rescue attempt to go ahead, it was a normal response "to use even the smallest chance when a life is at stake," as he told AP.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There are no plans to remove Timmy's carcass, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency added, since it "is not currently considered to pose a problem in the area."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It urged people to keep a safe distance and not approach the whale for health reasons - and in case it explodes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><p><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via </span></strong><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727"><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></a><strong><span> and </span></strong><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1"><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></a></p></li><li><p><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by </span></strong><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w"><strong><span>ticking this box here</span></strong></a></p></li></ul></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><span>Sign up to </span></strong><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>