Stray Northern Bottlenose Whale

pantsonfire321@aol.com · Fri Jan 20, 2006 9:00 am

Just seen sky news and a bottlenose whale has been found in the River thames UK and a second found near Southend it seems the smaller one found in central london maybe a baby that has lost its mother - fingers crossed people its very weak and proberbly wont survive .:yh_pray

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 10:48 am

In the picture, the Houses of paliament are in the background, so you can see that the Whale is several miles up the river. i am watching the news and as it is dark it is hard to tell what is going on. The tide will be going out towards the sea soon and they hope the Whale will go with it, but I've just heard that's going the wrong way.

Whale spotted in central London

A seven-tonne whale has made its way up the Thames to central London, where it is being watched by riverside crowds.

The 16-18ft (5m) northern bottle-nosed whale, which is usually found in deep sea waters, has been seen as far upstream as Chelsea.

A rescue boat has been sent to protect the whale and rescuers have been trying to keep it away from the river banks.

Specialist equipment, including inflatable tubes to re-direct the animal downstream, are being sent.

The whale has come within yards of the banks and has crashed into an empty boat causing slight bleeding.

Vets are remaining on standby and experts have said it does not appear to be ill, but are concerned it will get weaker and may become beached.

Tony Woodley, of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, which will be handling the rescue, said the animal's welfare was the main priority.

He said if attempts to re-direct the whale downstream failed, it might be necessary to put it down to prevent from suffering further.

'Breathing normally'

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.

But at 0830 GMT on Friday, a man on a train called in to say he might have been hallucinating, but he had just seen a whale in the Thames.

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.

The whale is thought to weigh about seven tonnes.

"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.

London Aquarium Curator Paul Hale told the BBC: "Getting that to do anything it doesn't want to do is going to be extremely difficult.

"This is a very active swimming animal and it's not going to go anywhere it doesn't want to go so we have to persuade it to swim back out."

Liz Sandeman, a medic of the Marine Connection, a whale and dolphin protection charity, accompanied the RNLI to examine the animal.

She feared it might be in danger from other boats, or be frightened by the noise.

"The last thing we want to do is stress the animal out," she 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.

Uncle Kram · Post by **Uncle Kram** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 12:11 pm

I don't see a happy ending on this one - shame, but like you said, fingers crossed

BabyRider · Post by **BabyRider** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 12:14 pm

Oh, this is so sad. You will keep us updated, right? I'm hoping for a happy ending...you never know.

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 3:30 pm

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.

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."

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 9:43 pm

one of the best moments i ever had SCUBA diving was hearing some sounds, and looking up ...there before me, only a few feet away, was a pilot whale.~~~~~~~ i hope he'll find his way back to the sea. but usually when they (any cetaceans) become disoriented or beach themselves, it's due to some inner-ear infection. sad.

listeranta · Post by **listeranta** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 2:03 am

08.45 GMT

Poor thing still floundering about and still moving west. Lot's of talk but no-one seems to know what to do. "experts' are slapping the water and generally faffing about.

I believe we've had porpoises but never a whale. It must be unwell and appears to be getting weaker. this is day 2 i think. I'll be surprised if it makes it back to open water.

so sad - I can't watch.

09.06

now swimming east against perilous tide. next low tide at noonish.

Uncle Kram · Post by **Uncle Kram** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 2:21 am

At least it's heading in the right direction, but if it's confused , there's no saying it won't turn round later. It's health appears to be a cause for concern. I wonder how many millions of people around the world are willing this mammal to reach the sea.

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 6:09 am

The rescue attempt is on SKY news and FOX news in the US. I hope there is a happy outcome, but we should be prepared for the fact that the vets will put the animal to sleep if they find it is sick. Whatever happens we should applaud the efforts of all involved. The tide is turning and time is of the essenceI'm riveted to the rescue attempt...be back later.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:21 am

p.m. EST (17:19 GMT), January 21, 2006

London watches whale of a ride

A barge is ferrying an injured whale that made a wrong turn into the heart of London's River Thames back home to open waters, ending a brief guest appearance that transfixed Londoners and TV viewers everywhere. Rescuers used a crane to lift the 5-ton animal aboard the barge -- which now is heading for the English Channel, where the northern bottlenose whale will be released.

FULL STORY | THE CNN WIRE

pantsonfire321@aol.com · Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:39 am

I saw the whale this afternoon (about 3pm) and got some good footage on camcorder, it was brilliant but so sad at the same time, the whale was in shallow water but being held either side by floats .There were people all around keeping it wet- i really hope this magnificent creature survives and today it has a better chance than it did yesterday .fingers crossed !!

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:41 am

Fears for health of Thames whale

Plans to release a whale stranded in the River Thames out at sea are shelved after its health deteriorates.

things not looking too good.

pantsonfire321@aol.com · Sat Jan 21, 2006 11:21 am

SnoozeControl wrote: , its just a juvenile that must've gotten separated from its mother.

This is so sad.:-1

When i first heard about it it was reported as two whales but i havent found anything reported on the second(maybe it was a hoax) lots of different storys not sure which is true.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 12:21 pm

the whale has died, no further details at the moment. :-1

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 12:22 pm

Lost whale dies after rescue bid

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.

abbey · Post by **abbey** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 11:50 pm

Sadly the whale died. :-1

http://news.bbc.co.uk/