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Title: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: anythinggoes on January 20, 2006, 08:20:48 AM Whale spotted in central London?
The whale was spotted by tourists and boaters A large whale has been spotted in the River Thames in central London by boaters and sightseers. The mammal, thought to be a pilot whale which can grow to 20ft, was seen swimming past the Houses of Parliament. "I saw it blow, it was a spout of water which sparkled in the air," said Tom Howard-Vyne, who works at the London Eye, on the other side of the river. The whale is believed to have travelled upstream passing the Thames Barrier early on Friday morning. 'Breathing normally' "It was on this side of Westminster Bridge and 10 minutes ago it was near the House of Commons, " said Mr Howard-Vyne. "It was an amazing sight." The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) sent a lifeboat to check up on the whale's condition. Liz Sandeman, a medic of the Marine Connection, a whale and dolphin protection charity, accompanied the RNLI to examine the animal. "It looks quite healthy and quite relaxed," she said. "It's breathing normally and its weight seems good." She said boats in the river could be a danger to the animal. "There's also the noise which could affect it - the Thames is extremely busy. The last thing we want to do is stress the animal out. "Some people think it has lost its way or is not feeling well, but it's very hard to say why it is here." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Title: Re: whale spotted in the thames Post by: Evolution on January 20, 2006, 10:04:28 AM Pretty cool thing to see. I wish Loch Ness was more busy sometimes
Title: Re: whale spotted in the thames Post by: Izzy on January 20, 2006, 10:48:29 AM The other year a Great White Shark was seen off Cornwall :nervous:
Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: jarmo on January 20, 2006, 01:06:48 PM Things like this doesn't happen that often. Wonder what's next? Axl will be spotted in London in 2006 as well?
Maybe it's a sign! :hihi: /jarmo Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: anythinggoes on January 20, 2006, 01:15:11 PM Things like this doesn't happen that often. Wonder what's next? Axl will be spotted in London in 2006 as well? Maybe it's a sign!? :hihi: /jarmo 1913 was the last recorded sighting of one so not as long a wait as Axl Yet Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: SLCPUNK on January 20, 2006, 01:20:20 PM I thought this was a post in the obesity thread for a minute............
Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: Rockin' Rose on January 20, 2006, 01:40:21 PM I hope the whale finds a way back to the ocean :)
Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: R4tfink on January 20, 2006, 06:00:30 PM Apparently the Whale is now out of sight and they are worried it might beach itself!
:'( Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: Graciela on January 20, 2006, 06:19:40 PM There's been a sighting at Greenwich. Hopefully that means that it's finding its way back to open sea. Now the question is if it will be fit enough to carry on its journey
Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: Drew on January 20, 2006, 09:26:33 PM Pretty wild story. Interesting though. I actually heard about the story on a sports television prgram called Pardon The Interruption earlier evening. ;D
Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: Evolution on January 21, 2006, 09:36:25 AM My brother tells me it's stuck in an estuary. They need a helicopter to move it or something.
Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: Drew on January 21, 2006, 10:18:07 AM Their using a crane on a boat to load and move the whale now.
Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: Drew on January 21, 2006, 02:50:19 PM Sad news. The River Thames whale died this evening.
Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: Evolution on January 21, 2006, 02:55:55 PM By Jeremy Lovell
LONDON (Reuters) - Initial optimism over the health of a rescued whale being ferried down the River Thames on a barge to freedom faded on Saturday when its condition suddenly took a turn for the worse. The adolescent northern bottle-nosed whale made international headlines after it strayed up the Thames to central London on Friday, and huge crowds lining the river banks burst into applause as the rescue got under way on Saturday. It was first time since records began in 1913 that a whale had been seen so far upstream. "The vets on board were initially cautiously optimistic that it was healthy and could be released. But that has been replaced by pessimism as its condition deteriorates rapidly," Tony Woodley of British Divers Marine Life Rescue told Reuters. The choice facing the veterinary experts on board the barge carrying the deep-diving 18-foot (six meter) mammal toward the open sea was whether to release it into the estuary and hope it swam out to deep water or kill it to save it further suffering. "It always was a trade-off between the whale's health and the distance we could take it to deep water. It seems now the decision will have to be taken in the next couple of hours," Woodley said. As the barge sped toward open waters 40 miles downstream, volunteers poured water onto the whale to keep its skin damp. Time was always going to be crucial because the whale's body is not designed to bear its own weight and it could begin to suffocate if kept out of the water too long. The whale, one of the world's deepest diving mammals that usually travels in groups, triggered international interest when it was first spotted near the Houses of Parliament. Experts speculated that it was so far from its natural environment because it was either very ill, had got lost chasing food or had been driven from its usual habitat by military testing or loud sonar. Another northern bottle-nosed whale was seen on Friday in the Thames estuary, and on Saturday the body of a dead harbor porpoise was found upstream at Putney. Whale expert Peter Evans of the Sea Watch Foundation praised the rescue operation that involved partially beaching the whale, moving it onto an inflatable pontoon and floating it down to the waiting barge. But he questioned the wisdom of releasing it into the shallow waters and busy traffic lanes of the Thames estuary. "There is a real danger that, if it is well enough to release, letting it go again in the estuary will simply mean it will beach itself again," he told Reuters. "In a perfect world it would be taken either by road or barge to the Atlantic where there is less danger from shipping and easy access to deeper waters," he added. Attempts were made during the night to encourage the whale to swim back downriver. At one stage it was spotted as far downstream as Greenwich, but it returned upstream to what appeared to be its preferred spot between Chelsea and Albert Bridges. Although it was the first time a whale had been spotted so far up the river, sightings of seals and dolphins have risen steadily further downstream over the past five years as the water quality has improved. Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: nevermiss24 on January 23, 2006, 07:01:09 PM whales are cool
Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: R4tfink on January 23, 2006, 07:08:28 PM And sadly this one is now dead.
Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: AxlsMainMan on January 23, 2006, 08:16:32 PM (http://i1.tinypic.com/micbr8.jpg)
Rest In Peace big guy... :'( Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: R4tfink on January 24, 2006, 08:18:37 AM Why has Wally gone white?
And why do you never see White Dog shit anymore? Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: anythinggoes on January 24, 2006, 08:21:10 AM Why has Wally gone white? And why do you never see White Dog shit anymore? hes gone cold ? no more calcium in dog food i think Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: R4tfink on January 24, 2006, 08:35:32 AM Thanks man! I was hoping for people to relate and liaise with me about the lack of white dog shit in the world, you seemed to have nipped that one in the bud straight away though with scientific fact. ;)
Poor Wally, he looks damn ugly being white. Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: anythinggoes on January 24, 2006, 09:26:44 AM Thanks man! I was hoping for people to relate and liaise with me about the lack of white dog shit in the world, you seemed to have nipped that one in the bud straight away though with scientific fact.? ;) Poor Wally, he looks damn ugly being white. sorry man how about it was crapped out by a great dane and so it has snow on it Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: Cornell on January 24, 2006, 11:02:08 AM It looks like a Baluga Whale to me and they're white. :-\
Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: R4tfink on January 24, 2006, 04:17:35 PM Thanks man! I was hoping for people to relate and liaise with me about the lack of white dog shit in the world, you seemed to have nipped that one in the bud straight away though with scientific fact.? ;) Poor Wally, he looks damn ugly being white. sorry man how about it was crapped out by a great dane and so it has snow on it I dont know what sort of Great Danes you have seen but i have NEVER seen one that is so tall, it gets snow on it! However, that is a great theorem and one i will share with my peers! Title: Re: A Bottleneck Whale Spotted in the River Thames Central London Post by: Evolution on January 24, 2006, 04:18:53 PM What's up with the whale? He looks in a seriously bad way.
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