Create a list of articles to read later. You will be able to access your list from any article in Discover.
You don't have any saved articles.
Young minke whale freed by rescuers after stranding in the River Thames
A major operation has taken place in London to save a whale that had become stranded in the River Thames.
Rescuers working tirelessly through the night managed to free the whale at about 01.00 before it slipped free and swam off.
People are urged to keep an eye out for the whale, which was last seen off Isleworth and may still be in the river.
Update: Unfortunately, after swimming further up the Thames and deteriorating in condition, the young whale was euthanised to prevent any further suffering.
At around 19.00 on Sunday 9 May a young whale was spotted stranded on the concrete banks of a lock in the River Thames.
The small whale, measuring only about three or four metres long, was spotted on the concrete side of Richmond lock and weir in southwest London, about 80 kilometres inland from the mouth of the Thames.
The whale has been identified as a minke whale. There are two species of minke, with this one being a common (or northern) minke, which can be found across much of the northern hemisphere.
Growing up to 10 metres long, they generally travel alone or in small groups feeding on fish, squid and occasionally crustaceans. Females will give birth to a calf that is about 2.6 metres long, meaning that this unfortunate whale is unlikely to be particularly old.
Ellen Coombs, is a PhD student studying the evolution of whales at the Museum. As part of this, she has looked into the historical records of whale and dolphin strandings along the UK coastline.
'The minke is very young,' says Ellen. 'From the light, white colour of the baleen and the body size it could be less than a year old.
'Minkes tend to stay with their mothers for the first 5-6 months of their lives. During this time they are dependent on milk before switching to solid food, when they may hang around with their mothers for slightly longer.'
Arriving at about 21.00, a team of rescuers from the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, the Port of London Authority, the British Divers Marine Life Rescue service and fire crews worked until late in the night.
Astonishing - and rather sad - sight of a whale (baby Minky???) stuck at Richmond Lock Bridge... Vet in attendance and a large crowd of people willing it back into the river! pic.twitter.com/VYKkmJwsIo
Richard Frank (@richardfrank) May 9, 2021
As the tide came in at 01.00, the team managed to succeed in floating the young whale using large inflatables, before beginning to tow the whale out into the deeper channel of the river.
Unfortunately at this point the whale struggled free of the floats and swam off.
Members of the public are urged to keep an eye out for the whale, which was last seen off Isleworth in west London. Its small size and young age mean that there are concerns about its ability to navigate its way back to the mouth of the river.
Marine mammals in the Thames
Dolphins are frequently spotted swimming up and down the river, while there is a healthy population of seals that live in the estuary of the river.
It is slightly more unusual for whales to swim up the Thames. In recent years an adult minke whales was spotted near Westminster, while a young humpback was spotted in 2019 near the Dartford Crossing.
The most famous cetacean sighting in the Thames in recent times was that of Benny the Beluga. After being spotted near the mouth of the Thames on 25 September 2019, Benny entertained crowds for weeks in the run up to Christmas, before disappearing back off into the North Sea.
'It's pretty common to see smaller dolphins and porpoises in the river, they travel in from the North Sea most likely following food and following the tides up from the Thames estuary,' explains Ellen. 'Seeing larger baleen whales in the Thames is not as common.
'Minkes are often spotted in nearshore waters around the UK but less so in the southern North Sea and the English Channel which makes this individual sighting very rare.'
