A whale in the River Thames............

[michel]

Lost whale 'seen heading for sea'

A possible sighting of a whale in the River Thames near Greenwich has given fresh hope that it may soon reach the sea and ultimately safety.

Fears had been growing for the 16-18ft (5m) northern bottle-nosed whale which came as far upstream as Chelsea.

But now rescuers searching the east London stretch of river hope the sighting was accurate and it will continue to swim downstream. Experts feared the distressed animal could become dangerously beached.




Tony Woodley, of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue Group, said it was spotted by a member of public at around 2045 GMT in Greenwich.


"Our rescue boat is now in the area looking for it with our spotlights on and if we see it, we will check its health."

Teams had been becoming increasingly worried as there had been no sighting of the whale since 1815 GMT at Chelsea Bridge.

This latest development will give hope to the hundreds of thousands of people who have been following the progress of the whale, which is usually found in deep sea water.

It was first spotted at 0830 GMT on Friday by a man on a train and has since attracted massive public and media attention.

Crowds gathered along the riverbanks to witness the extraordinary spectacle.

But it soon became clear there was cause for concern, as the animal came within yards of the banks, almost beaching, and crashed into an empty boat causing slight bleeding.


It is a very long way from home and we don't know why it has ended up here
Alison Shaw, London Zoo

Alan Knight, of the British Divers Life Marine Rescue Group, said if the whale does go ashore, teams could then check its health.

He said if it appears thin, it may be coming in to die, and added: "In which case we will euthanize it and consider it a success because it has not caused more suffering."

If well however, a system of pontoons will be used to try to refloat it by lifting it into a boat and taking it out to sea, he said.

"It is a very unusual thing and we have never done it before with a whale this size. It might float, it might not."




He added that the whale was damaging itself by coming ashore.

The RNLI say it is the first whale rescue on the Thames. A spokesman said three whales were spotted east of the Thames Barrier on Thursday but only one managed to get upstream.

Alison Shaw, of the Marine and Freshwater Conservation Programme at London Zoo, said the northern bottle-nosed whale was usually found in groups of three to 10.






She told the BBC News website: "This is extremely rare in British waters as they are normally found in deep waters in the North Atlantic.

"It is about 16-18ft long, so is relatively mature. It is a very long way from home and we don't know why it has ended up here."

The whales usually weigh about seven tonnes, which will complicate any rescue attempt, experts said.

Over the years dolphins and seals have been spotted in the Thames.

Sperm whales have been seen in the Thames Estuary and porpoises have feasted on fish near Vauxhall Bridge, in central London.





Hyperoodon ampullatus
Adult length: 7-10m (23-33ft)
Weight: 5.8-7.5 tonnes
Diet: Squid, fish
Habitat: Deep offshore waters
Range: Arctic and North Atlantic
Status: Lower risk, conservation dependent, protected since 1977
Distinctive feature: Bulbous forehead





Do you have any pictures or moving footage of the whale? If so, you can send them to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or MMS them to 07725 100 100

[Jaymes]

Poor thing! I hope it gets back out to sea safely.

[Bishka]

Dang it, you beat me to posting this.

[Evenstar]

I read this today.... Gosh im hoping it gets out quick.

That river is more than fishy..... its YUCKY!

I lived in London and saw a dead dog washed up... and trust me it had been there a while Poor thing!

[Mike182]

Originally Posted by Evenstar

I read this today.... Gosh im hoping it gets out quick.

That river is more than fishy..... its YUCKY!

I lived in London and saw a dead dog washed up... and trust me it had been there a while Poor thing!

im inclined to agree on this, the poor thing is probably more confused at how many big mac burger rappers its found in comparison to subway rappers

[Mike182]

animal rights activists are concerned about the whale after it washed up the bank next door to a sushi restraunt

[jeffrey]

Reminds me of the last time I went sunbathing at the beach, some people came over, threw water on me and tried to push me back out into the ocean, yelling "I think we can save this one!"

[michel]

This poor whale can't make it on his own; it may be too late!


Thames whale to be moved by barge

Rescuers are moving a whale stranded in the River Thames and intend to put it on a barge to take it to open water.

The 18ft (5m) northern bottle-nosed whale, first spotted in London on Friday, was placed in a special pontoon in shallow water near Battersea Bridge.

It is being moved to a barge at Vauxhall Bridge where it will be taken to the estuary while they await the results of blood tests. If vets say it is healthy enough to survive, it will be released at sea.




A sighting of the whale on Saturday near Albert Bridge, in Chelsea, disappointed rescuers buoyed by an earlier report that it had been seen in Greenwich, which is closer to the sea.






But later on Saturday rescuers managed to put the whale on a special pontoon which was then tethered close to two boats and towed towards the barge.

Spontaneous applause broke out among the 3,000 onlookers as the crews of the boats manoeuvred and headed downriver while others cheered from Battersea Bridge, which has been closed, as the whale passed beneath.

Mark Stevens, from British Divers Marine Life Rescue, speaking to the BBC from the river, said the first thing vets did was carry out ultra sound tests to see how much blubber it had.

He said the animal's breathing is "acceptable considering the situation" and that blood tests were also carried out. He added that KY Jelly was used to stop the whale drying out.




Rescuers said they were keen to move the whale away from Battersea because of fears that the rising tide would be unsafe for the team holding it there.

Tony Woodley, spokesman for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue group, said: "We are now going to start the exercise of getting the animal on to the Port of London Authority barge.

"This does not mean it is going to be released. Should the veterinary results be positive it would be released," he stressed.

"If the vet's opinion is that it's not likely to survive [a rescue attempt] we might have to euthanise the whale - but we don't want to do that."




The whale, which could weigh about four tonnes, was first spotted at 0830 GMT on Friday by a man on a train and has since attracted massive public and media attention.

It soon became clear there was cause for concern, as the animal came within yards of the banks, almost beaching, and crashed into an empty boat, causing itself slight bleeding.

Hundreds of people have again flocked to the riverbank to catch a glimpse of the whale and Battersea Bridge has been closed because so many people and cars are on it.

The rescue teams have asked for sight-seeing boats to keep well clear and there was also concern helicopters being used to film the rescue could be disturbing the whale.

There were reports of a pod of whales in the Thames estuary earlier in the week, and it was possible that the whale had become separated from this group.

There was also an unconfirmed sighting of a whale in Southend in Essex on Friday.

It was the first sighting of the endangered species in the Thames since records began nearly a century ago.





Do you have any pictures or video footage of the whale? If so, you can send them to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or MMS them to 07725 100 100



Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/h...on/4633878.stm

Published: 2006/01/21 14:40:23 GMT

© BBC MMVI

[Mike182]

i hope it gets released safely