San Francisco Frontiers - Beached whale frees itself from German coast

A flotilla of vessels were following the weakened animal at a distance, hoping to help guide it into the North Sea and toward the Atlantic Ocean, its natural habitat.

The roughly 10-metre- (33-foot-) long sea mammal was first spotted on Monday stuck in shallow water close to Niendorf near the northern city of Luebeck.

That set off days of intensive efforts using boats to make waves, then excavators to dig up sand and free the whale, as fears grew for its life.

Rescue teams from Thursday used earth moving equipment on a pontoon to dredge a channel through the sand to allow the animal to escape.

Then, overnight to Friday, the whale "gathered its forces" and "freed itself using its own strength", marine biologist Robert Marc Lehmann said.

"Whale rescue successful," he wrote on his Instagram profile.

However, he cautioned against excessive optimism and said the animal is "very ill" and had a long way to go before reaching "its real home, the Atlantic".

The whale had been entangled in a fishing net, most of which rescuers managed to remove.

Lehmann said the whale was "zigzagging" in the water and could become stranded again.

Experts from the marine conservation group Sea Shepherd also warned that the whale is suffering from a skin disease.

The animal was being escorted by, among others, two vessels from the Schleswig-Holstein state water police, a spokesperson from its headquarters in Kiel told AFP.

Experts hope it will swim back to the North Sea through the straits between Germany, Denmark and Sweden and on to the Atlantic Ocean.

"Now we just have to hope that it finds its way out," state premier Daniel Guenther said on local radio, thanking the rescue volunteers.

"I think they were all happy that all their digging had finally paid off."

S.Hall--SFF