The German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's Environment Ministry announced the other evening that a humpback whale that had been stranded in the Baltic Sea for several days has managed to free itself. The whale had run agained again on a sandbar but was able to set itself free. A ministry spokesman, Klaus Tantzen, warned that the shallow waters in the area could cause the whale to run aground again. Rescue attempts for the 12-15 meter long humpback whale continued for several days without success, until last Thursday, rescuers managed to dig a channel in the sand using a floating excavator, which allowed the whale to swim free again the following night.
