A modern day Moby Dick

Dear Reader,

As a tale that captures something of the national mood, there is something eerily fitting about the fight to save a stranded humpback whale in the Baltic Sea. For weeks, Germany has watched as increasingly elaborate attempts have been made to keep the animal alive. All the while, it has remained unclear whether the whale can be saved at all — or whether it was doomed from the moment it strayed into these waters.

The whale — dubbed “Timmy” — entered the Baltic in early March, likely following a shoal of herring. In the shallow, brackish waters off the German coast, it became entangled in a fishing net. Marine biologists say it may have swallowed parts of the netting, causing internal damage that would be difficult to reverse.

It eventually stranded itself on a sandbank, too weak to pull free.

The public refused to accept that this might be its fate. Protesters gathered on the shore, demanding that the authorities act. The story spread quickly across the national media.

What fol…