Whale Swims Up Thames

[shadowdancer]

this is pretty cool, shame the bugger didnt do this a couple of days earlier when I was down there and would have seen it.

its one of those things that always fascinates people, seeing an animal where its not supposed to be, like dolphins in rivers and dogs in the school grounds (when you were at school)

Whale Swims Up Thames
Updated: 13:46, Friday January 20, 2006

Crowds are gathering in central London to watch a whale which is swimming along the River Thames.

The northern bottle-nosed whale has been seen gliding past Parliament by hundreds of sightseers.

It is the first time this type of animal has been seen in the Thames since records began in 1913.

The Sky News helicopter is beaming live images of the whale as it swims up the river against the tide.

There have also been reports of a sighting of a second whale in Southend.

Eyewitness Tom Howard-Vyne said: "I saw it blow, it was a spout of water which sparkled in the air.

"It was on this side of Westminster Bridge and 10 minutes ago it was near the House of Commons.

"I think it's being looked after by a lifeboat to make sure it doesn't get disturbed by the shipping in the river. It was an amazing sight."

Lea Garcia, from the Royal Society For Protection of Animals, told Sky News: "They need to get it back out to sea obviously."

"Hopefully it will find its own way back out. You need to find a way to do it without causing it distress."

A Thames Water spokesman told Sky News the water quality of the Thames had improved greatly in recent years.

"One of the key reasons why water bills have risen in recent years is to pay for massive improvements in sewage treatment works," he said.

Northern bottle-nosed whales are normally seen in the north Atlantic off Norway and the Barents Sea and off northern Britain and Ireland in the summer.

They have a bulbous forehead and look like a very large bottle-nosed dolphin.

The species can grow to 10 metres in length and is described by experts as "inquisitive".

More follows...

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0...209846,00.html

video here to watch

http://www.sky.com/skynews/video/vid...6_1300,00.html

[whatnow]

its heading for Wales...

[casio]

when i read the title i was expecting a rick waller or michelle mcmanus joke in the wrong thread but looks like theres an actual whale in there shame is not a killer whale though cos it looks like a malformed dolphin from what ive seen

cas

[shadowdancer]

'Intelligence Suggests Bin Laden has a Whale shaped Submarine bomb'

lol

[casio]

lol and surface began on itv last week lol (if you havent been watching the us episodes then this post makes no sense what so ever)

cas

[digidump]

when i read the title i was expecting a rick waller or michelle mcmanus joke in the wrong thread but looks like theres an actual whale in there shame is not a killer whale though cos it looks like a malformed dolphin from what ive seen
cas

I thought has our lass gone swimming again

(typed very quickley before she comes in from work)

[cyprus]

Can't see the poor bugger making it thru the night

[flanflinger]

these mamals are considdered by the natural history museum as "inquisitive...

they better add shit navigators to that...

bet its thinking... "I knew me tom tom needed new batteries"

[whatnow]

Can't see the poor bugger making it thru the night

LONDON (Reuters) - A whale stranded in the River Thames in central London is becoming tired and disorientated and may not survive long enough to swim back out to sea, marine experts said on Saturday.

The northern bottle-nosed whale swam up the Thames on Friday, passing the Houses of Parliament and drawing large crowds to witness the rare event.

At 9.30 a.m. on Saturday a Reuters photographer saw the whale between Albert and Chelsea bridges as it fought the river's incoming tide around 30 miles (48 km) from the Channel.

"It is obviously distressed and tired and we must warn that there may not be a happy ending to this unfolding saga," said Tony Woodley, director of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue group.

"As the tide drops again throughout this morning we will have our medics on hand with equipment in case it strands on the river's banks as they are gradually exposed.

"If it strands ... we can then make informed and unemotional decisions about the whale's future," he added.

Witnesses said the whale was between 5 and 8 metres (yards) in length and some said on Friday that blood was visible in the water.

Experts are unclear what the world's deepest-diving whale -- a sociable animal that normally travels in groups -- is doing on its own and in such shallow waters.

On theory is that the whale, native to the northern North Atlantic, had been following fish upstream and became disorientated.

The Natural History Museum said it was the first time the species had been recorded in the Thames since its records began in 1913.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/news...TAIN-WHALE.XML

poor little whale

[beansontoast]

"It is obviously distressed and tired and we must warn that there may not be a happy ending to this unfolding saga," said Tony Woodley, director of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue group.

I saw a bloke from this rescue group on the news this morning, he said he wants it to beach so they can help it. The newsreader said that all the video from yesterday showed people shooing the whale away from the riverbank & he said "not by us".

[flumperino]

Just heard on the news that they put KY Jelly on it when lifting it onto the boat??? wtf?

Poor bugger though...doesn't sound like he's going to make it

[4me2]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>Lost whale dies after rescue bid

</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><!-- S BO --><!-- S IBOX --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5></TD><TD class=sibtbg>


<!-- S ILIN -->Rescue operation
<!-- E ILIN -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IBOX --><!-- S SF -->A whale that became stranded in the River Thames has died after a massive rescue attempt to save its life.
The 18ft (5m) northern bottle-nosed whale was first spotted in the river on Friday and rescuers began an attempt to save it on Saturday morning.
But the whale died at about 1900 GMT on Saturday as rescuers transported it on a barge towards deeper water in the Thames Estuary.
It was moved after being placed in a special pontoon near Battersea Bridge. <!-- E SF --><!-- E BO -->
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4635874.stm
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[whatnow]

aww how sad

poor whale

[Keva]

How sad

[Deadly]

What a waste of 50 grand lol (thats how much the news said the rescue was costing)

[wonkyfox]

they almost had the whale back into the mouth of the river as well,when he died..A bit longer and he may have made it...very sad!

[DB]

What a waste of 50 grand lol (thats how much the news said the rescue was costing)

When your trying to save an animal like that 50 grand is no waste m8.
Better than doing nuthin, or wasting 50 grand digging up yet another fookin good road. (they tend to do that round here a lot.

[wizard1974uk]

Its a shame.