A large whale was spotted off Heiligenhafen in Germany's Schleswig-Holstein state on Thursday, though the German Oceanographic Museum said poor image quality prevented confirmation of whether it is the same humpback recently seen near Denmark.
Two sighting reports were submitted between noon and 2 p.m. on July 16, the museum said. The state environment ministry could not independently verify the sighting and referred to the established reporting chain for whale strandings.
The reports follow sightings in recent weeks of a humpback off Denmark's Baltic coast, including near Aarhus and between Jutland and Funen, after Danish authorities urged the public to keep their distance due to signs the animal appeared ill. A separate humpback named Timmy was found dead near the Danish island of Anholt in May after an attempted rescue in German waters.