The condition of the humpback whale stranded off the German island of Poel in the Baltic Sea remained unchanged on Easter Monday.
The animal is still breathing regularly, at intervals of two to four minutes, reports the Ministry of the Environment of the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Still, there is a glimmer of hope once again for the 12-tonne animal, which has been stranded since last Tuesday.
The ministry is investigating whether a catamaran could lift the whale to take it to deeper water. However, a medical report expected on Tuesday must first determine whether the humpback whale has any chance of survival at all, Environment Minister Till Backhaus stated in an interview with the News5 channel.
Backhaus emphasised that the animal is currently in a very poor condition. The whale is suffering from the low salinity of the Baltic Sea, which is harmful to its skin.
Additionally, the animal shows injuries likely caused by ship propellers, and remnants of fishing nets have been found on its body.
The catamaran in question is available in Denmark. The plan is to carefully slide wide tyres, measuring between 80 cm and one metre, under the whale so as not to injure it. The animal would then be placed on a net and transported to a safer location.
The humpback whale has become stranded four times off the German coast since early March.
On three occasions, it managed to swim away under its own power, but failed to find its way back to the Atlantic Ocean.
The whale had previously been spotted in the port of Wismar and at Timmendorfer Strand in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, before becoming stranded again last Tuesday.
