Hartwin

EN Hartwin is a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) who has been tracked across multiple countries since January 2026. First sighted on 18 January near Bloemendaal in the Netherlands, the whale reappeared on 2 February at Bloemendaal aan Zee, then travelled far north to Lofoten, Norway by 13 May, to Scotland's Moray Firth by 23 May, south to South Shields on 3 June, back to the Netherlands at Kruiningen and into Belgium's Scheldt near the Doel nuclear power plant on 5 June, and then into Danish waters by 18 June, appearing at Odde Harbor on Zealand. From there Hartwin moved west through Lillebælt past Middelfart (20 June), south of Årø near Årøsund (21 June), back north to Fænøsund (23 June), south to Varnæsvig near Aabenraa (24 June), into the Als Fjord at Stegsvig (26 June), through Aabenraa Fjord (27 June), into Sønderborg Bay heading towards the Flensburg Fjord (29 June), past the bascule bridge in central Sønderborg (4 July), at Egernsundbroen and then off Holnis on the German side of the Flensburg Fjord (5 July). After four days without sightings, Hartwin reappeared 148 km to the north on 9 July 2026, spotted from the lighthouse on Aarhus island swimming parallel to shore, then at the Port of Aarhus. On 10 July he was seen again at Aarhus Ø, and on 11 July 2026 a large, very pale whale was sighted heading into Vejle Fjord. On 12 July he was seen off Bogense on the north coast of Funen, and on 13 July 2026 he was sighted between Samsø and Fynshoved. On 16 July, Hartwin was seen at Dahrendorf/Heiligenhafen, 140 km to the south, back in German waters on the Baltic coast of Schleswig-Holstein. On 17 July 2026, the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of the Environment confirmed a sighting at the mouth of the Kiel Fjord, stating the whale was slowly moving back towards the open sea. On 18 July, Hartwin was sighted deeper inside the Kiel Fjord near the Hörnbrücke in central Kiel. On 22 July he was seen at Schönberger Strand, on 24 July in the inner Flensburg Fjord, on 25 July 2026 at Sønderhav, back in Danish waters, and on 27 July at Wismar's Westhafen, 164 km further east along the German Baltic coast. On 29 July 2026, Hartwin was sighted at Wustrow/Darß, continuing east along the German coast. After ten days without confirmed sightings, on 8 August he was observed off Woliński Park Narodowy on Wolin Island, Poland, 152 km further east, meaning Hartwin had crossed into his eighth country. Recent photographs showed a protruding spine, indicating an emaciated state and a significant deterioration since earlier sightings. Notably, a WWF Poland representative told media they could not even determine the species, let alone confirm it was Hartwin, suggesting they were largely unaware of this whale's story and had not been following the case. A quick search would have been useful.

On 13 August 2026, Hartwin's body was found in Greifswald Bodden, Germany. He was dead.

Over his documented journey, Hartwin covered thousands of kilometres across eight countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Scotland, England, Denmark, Germany, and Poland. Since entering Danish waters on 18 June, he travelled over 1,330 km. Since Heiko Buch-Illing of Fjord&Bælt told the media on 24 June that "there is no chance" and that Hartwin "is going to die," the whale travelled over 1,125 km across Danish, German, and Polish waters, crossed international borders multiple times, and kept swimming for 50 more days. No blow sample was ever collected. No diagnosis was ever made. No treatment was ever attempted. The medical interventions documented in the peer-reviewed literature were available throughout. They were never used.

On 24 June, Heiko Buch-Illing, CEO of Fjord&Bælt in Kerteminde, told the media that "there is no chance" and that Hartwin "is going to die." Hartwin travelled over 1,125 kilometres after that prediction, across three countries, over 50 days, before his body was finally found. The experts were right that he would die. But they were wrong that nothing could be done. The whale gave everyone 50 days to act. Nobody did.