GERMANY - A Whale Tale

The humpback whale stuck for more than a week in two different spots in the Baltic Sea was showing several signs of deteriorating health, according to rescuers and the state environment minister in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Pro­fessor Burkhard Baschek of the Ger­man Ocean­o­graphic Museum said [this] could prove a “decis­ive day” in the strand­ing. He warned that it was almost entirely up to the whale to free itself from the shal­lows and there was lim­ited scope to offer external assist­ance.

He said the mam­mal had only moved around 1 or 1.5 meters (roughly 3 to 5 feet) in the pre­vious 24 hours, des­pite a period with higher water levels overnight that had presented an oppor­tun­ity to move.

Green­peace’s Fran­ziska Saal­mann also said the whale was less respons­ive than on pre­vi­ous days when res­cuers tried to gauge its reac­tions to stim­uli.

Green­peace’s Fran­ziska Saal­mann said that if a point in time were to come when the whale had a clear and simple chance to escape, but was unable to make use of it, it could eventually become necessary to think about euthanasia to end its suffering. 

-www.dw.com, 30 March 2026

Commentary: European news media sources, particularly German ones, reported about the stranded whale nearly continuously.

Great efforts were made; many experts and volunteers participated, all for one thing: Save the whale.

A Google search reveals: “Cetacean stranding, more commonly referred to as beaching, refers to the phenomenon of dolphins and whales stranding themselves on beaches. There are around 2,000 strandings each year worldwide, with most resulting in the death of the animal. Beachings are rare enough that they are not a significant threat to any species. The beaching of a single, live animal is usually the result of sickness or injury. Bad weather, old age, navigation errors, and hunting too close to shore also contribute to beachings.”

Concerning human life, however, reliable statistics are not available when it comes to abortion: “While a precise, total number of annual abortions for the entire European continent is difficult to pinpoint due to varied reporting standards, available data indicates hundreds of thousands occur, with over 620,000 reported annually across just four major countries: Germany, England, France, and Spain. The Guttmacher Institute reported around 377,000 abortions in Western Europe alone in 2015-2019.”

Worshiping creation instead of the Creator is emphasized in Romans 1:20: “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”

(See If Animals Could Talk, Item #2209, $9.99.)