German rescuers plan to use air cushions to save Timmy the stranded whale

BERLIN (AP) — Rescuers in Germany began an elaborate operation Thursday to save a sick humpback whale that has been repeatedly stranded off the Baltic Sea coast and has stirred up tons of attention across the country for weeks.

The whale, which has been nicknamed Timmy by local media, is lying in shallow waters near the eastern German town of Wismar and has barely moved for days. Many fear it may soon die.

Timmy was first spotted swimming in the region on March 3. It is not clear why the whale swam into the Baltic Sea, far from its natural habitat. Some experts say the animal may have lost its way while swimming after a shoal of herring or during migration.

The animal faces long odds in finding its way back out into the North Sea, a journey of several hundred kilometers (miles), and then to the Atlantic Ocean.

Attempts to refloat the mammal with the help of police boats, excavators and inflatable boats had temporarily freed it. But the whale, which measures 12 to 15 meters (39 to 49 feet) long, never found its way back to the North Sea and was stranded again while becoming weaker and sicker.

Local media have started dayslong livestreams to feed the outsized public attention to the fate of the whale, which is lying in shallow waters and only breathing slowly and heavily. Online newspapers have pushed alerts with the smallest developments about Timmy's health including updates on its bad skin condition, which is related to the Baltic Sea's low salt content.

Activists have staged protests on the beach in Wismar calling for the animal's liberation, while influencers have debated whether the best way to help the animal was to let it die in peace or keep trying to assist its return to the Atlantic Ocean.

Interest has been so strong that police had put up a 500-meter (1,640 foot) protection zone to keep curious bystanders from getting too close and stressing the stranded whale even more.

Despite these efforts, a 67-year-old woman jumped off a boat on the weekend trying to get close to the whale before she was stopped.

Experts have come up with a sophisticated plan to use air cushions to lift the animal onto a tarp, which will be secured to two pontoons and attached to a tugboat.

State officials have approved a private initiative to transport the whale back to the North Sea and possibly further to the Atlantic. If everything goes according to plan, the tugboat carrying Timmy will have left the Baltic Sea by Friday.

“He’s not active, and he’s certainly not agile, but he shows that there’s still life in him,” Till Backhaus, the environment minister of the state of Mecklenburg-Pomerania, where Wismar is located, said Wednesday as he announced the new rescue plan. “He’s definitely suffered serious damage, that’s for sure.”

Greenpeace, which has been involved in previous rescue operations, said it wasn't supporting the latest one.

“We do not support the rescue operation because, according to all the information we have, this whale is sick and severely weakened,” a spokesperson for the environmental organization told German news agency dpa,

Helpers approach a humpback whale that is stuck off near the island of Poel, Weitendorf-Hof, Germany, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (Philip Dulian/dpa via AP)

Helpers approach a humpback whale that is stuck off near the island of Poel, Weitendorf-Hof, Germany, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (Philip Dulian/dpa via AP)

A stranded whale is sprayed with water as it got stuck on a sand bank in Kirchdorf on the island Poel, Germany, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

A humpback whale is stuck off near the island of Poel, Weitendorf-Hof, Germany, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (Philip Dulian/dpa via AP)

A stranded whale blows water as it got stuck on a sand bank in Kirchdorf on the island Poel, Germany, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African opposition party leader Julius Malema was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday after he was convicted of breaking firearm laws by firing a rifle at a political rally in 2018.

He was released on appeal, which will be heard at a later date.

If the verdict and sentence are upheld, Malema will be disqualified as a lawmaker. South African law bars anyone from serving in Parliament if they have been convicted of an offense and sentenced to more than 12 months in prison without the option of a fine.

Malema was convicted in October on five counts, including unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, discharge of a firearm in a built-up area and reckless endangerment.

Malema addressed hundreds of his party supporters, popularly known as “fighters," many of whom traveled from various provinces to attend the sentencing. Clad in their red party regalia, they chanted and sang before and after the sentence was delivered.

A defiant Malema criticized the magistrate, claiming she was biased against him throughout the case. “We were tried by a magistrate who doesn't read, who uses emotions, who speaks politics. We are done with her, we are going to a higher court,” he said.

The fiery lawmaker, who leads the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters party, was charged alongside his bodyguard Anton Snyman, after the video of the incident went viral. Snyman was found not guilty.

Delivering the sentence, Magistrate Twanet Olivier said she considered the magnitude of the offense when she determined his sentence. “We hear daily, or weekly, of children playing in the front yards, in the street, who are caught in crossfire, random shots fired, killing people. It’s just the first time that we hear, it’s being called celebratory shots,” Olivier said.

During his trial and sentencing, Malema said that the charges against him were politically motivated as they were brought by Afriforum, a lobby group for the white Afrikaner minority group that has been at odds with Malema for years.

Olivier said the sentence and verdict was based solely on his actions on the day.

Malema, whose party is the fourth-biggest in the country, is a divisive figure, mainly because of his party policies, which include the expropriation of white-owned land without compensation and the nationalization of mines and banks.

He appeared in a video shown by U.S. President Donald Trump during a tense meeting with South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa last year, where he was singing a controversial anti-apartheid song that has been interpreted by some as calling for violence against Afrikaners.

FILE - Julius Malema, the leader of Economic Freedom Fighters, addresses supporters during an election rally in Katlehong township, east of Johannesburg, Friday, Oct. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

FILE - Economic Freedom Fighters party leader Julius Malema raises his fist at an election rally in Polokwane, South Africa, on May 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

FILE - Opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party leader Julius Malema, center right, is removed by presidential task force as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attempts to deliver his State of the Nation address to MP's in Cape Town, South Africa, on Feb. 9, 2023. (Esa Alexander/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Julius Malema, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party leader stands in the dock during his pre-sentencing hearing at court, East London, South Africa, Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (AP Photo/STR)

Julius Malema, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party leader stands in the dock during his pre-sentencing hearing in court, East London, South Africa, Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (AP Photo/STR)