What the fate of Timmy the whale says about conservation

Timmy the whale is lost at sea, presumed dead. In normal circumstances, the loss of a young humpback whale would be a sad yet unremarkable part of the circle of life. Dead whales help sustain thousands of marine species – and are part of the global carbon cycle. But in the age of social media, the case took on a different meaning: millions of people saw videos and images of the juvenile male (given his nickname by the German media after repeated strandings on the Baltic coast) hovering between life and death, and many demanded that something was done to help the animal.

What the fate of Timmy the whale says about conservation. Timmy the whale is lost at sea, presumed dead. In normal circumstances, the loss of a young humpback whale would be a sad yet unremarkable part of the circle of life. Dead whales help sustain thousands of marine species – and are part of the global carbon cycle. But in the age of social media, the case took on a different meaning: millions of people saw videos and images of the juvenile male (given his nickname by the German media after repeated strandings on the Baltic coast) hovering between life and death, and many demanded that something was done to help the animal. Last week, a privately funded rescue mission – believed to have cost about €1.5m (£1.3m) – helped float Timmy away from the sandbanks. The photos of the whale in the barge are extraordinary – an apparent moment of h...