09/09/2008

Humpback Backtracks

'Bucki' the Whale Escapes the Baltic Sea

Experts are happily reporting that "Bucki," the 40-foot humpback whale who has been wandering lost around the Baltic Sea since July, is safe. The whale has beaten the odds by making its way back in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean.

The drama has ended for the humpback whale that strayed into and has been wandering around the Baltic Sea since at least July, pleasing crowds but worrying environmentalists. According to news reports, the whale the media has named "Bucki" has made its way back to the North Sea and is presumably on its way to the ocean -- and a bit more food.

The 12-meter (40-foot) whale was last photographed by a Swedish canoeist on August 20 in the Skagerrak, the strait forming a triangle between Norway, Sweden and Denmark and separating the Baltic Sea from the North Sea.

Greenpeace expert Jörg Feddern, who has been tracking the whale's progress for weeks now, told the Associated Press Tuesday that, according to his information, the whale "continues to head due north and is making no direction changes or turning around."

The whale is now presumed to be in the North Atlantic, according to the German news agency DDP. If, in fact, Bucki did make it that far, it will mark the first known instance of a whale having found its way out of the Baltic Sea after straying into it.

The whale has been followed closely by scientists and would-be whale-watchers alike since it was first sighted off the northern tip of the German resort island of Rügen by two bird-watchers on July 25. That was just the third sighting of a humpback whale in German waters since 1851, and the first one since 1978. "Bucki" was believed to have gotten lost by following a swarm of fish during its usual trip to spend the summer in the Arctic.

During its tour of the Baltic Sea, the whale was followed by a number of groups, including the environmental organization Greenpeace, the German coast guard and German waterway police. The whale was given the nickname "Bucki," short for "Buckelwal," the German word for humpback whale, and it was sighted in German, Polish and Danish territorial waters.

While in the Baltic, scientists worried that "Bucki" would have a hard time finding food. "It's getting increasingly urgent that the whale find his way back to the North Atlantic," Greenpeace expert Jörg Feddern said in late July, using photos to show that the whale had been losing weight and "isn't finding proper nourishment."

The other worry was that "Bucki" might become stranded in shallow waters. Greenpeace even dispatched activists in late August to follow the whale around and try to prevent it from doing so.

From pictures taken during various sightings, experts concluded that "Bucki" had, in fact, lost a good amount of weight during its Baltic odyssey. Nevertheless, experts believe it still has a good chance of survival, according to the DDP.

Humpback whales can grow to 18 meters in length and weigh up to 40 tons. Experts estimate that the world population of the species lies somewhere between 35,000 and 40,000.

jtw - with wire reports

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