Dunkirk101
01-20-2006, 01:07 PM
They finally Located it :D
Whale Swimming in London Lost, Likely Sick By ERIKA PENNINGTON, Associated Press Writer
8 minutes ago
LONDON, England - A lost and likely sick whale swam up the River Thames past Parliament and Big Ben in central London on Friday, attracting huge crowds and a police boat escort before nearly beaching itself on the shallow riverbank.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/starguard/r56352068.jpg
The Northern bottlenose whale appeared to be about 20 feet long, witnesses said. The whale, which usually is found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic, was about 40 miles from the mouth of the Thames on the North Sea.
Tom Howard-Vyne said he saw the marine mammal swim under Westminster Bridge near Big Ben.
"I saw it blow. It was a spout of water which sparkled in the air," he said. "It was an amazing sight."
TV stations followed the marine mammal with live coverage as it wandered into shallow water near the muddy banks of the tidal waterway. The whale appeared to get stuck several times, and officials wearing yellow jackets could be seen running up and down the shoreline at low tide trying to push it back into deeper water.
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue group said it would help the whale if it became stranded. A police boat accompanied the whale, apparently to shield it from other ships in the river.
Richard Sabian, a zoologist at the Natural History Museum in London, said such whales rarely swim in the nearby English Channel, and this was the first sighting of one in the River Thames since the museum began recording them in 1913.
A minke whale was seen in the Thames about six years ago, but not as far downstream, the museum said.
"The fact that it is swimming upstream is not a good sign," said Alison Shaw, a manager of the Zoological Society of London, Marine & Freshwater Conservation Program. "The whale must be confused or ill."
The Northern bottlenose whale is found in the North Atlantic and can reach nearly 30 feet in length and weigh nearly 8 tons.
They are known as curious animals, readily approaching boats and normally traveling in groups, according to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society's Web site.
"The whale's chances are not particularly good," Sabian said. "We hope it will swim back to sea."
Mark Simmonds, director of the Science, Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society, said the whale may be debilitated.
"When whales turned up in strange places before, they have been old, sick or wounded," Simmonds said.
Whale Swimming in London Lost, Likely Sick By ERIKA PENNINGTON, Associated Press Writer
8 minutes ago
LONDON, England - A lost and likely sick whale swam up the River Thames past Parliament and Big Ben in central London on Friday, attracting huge crowds and a police boat escort before nearly beaching itself on the shallow riverbank.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v112/starguard/r56352068.jpg
The Northern bottlenose whale appeared to be about 20 feet long, witnesses said. The whale, which usually is found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic, was about 40 miles from the mouth of the Thames on the North Sea.
Tom Howard-Vyne said he saw the marine mammal swim under Westminster Bridge near Big Ben.
"I saw it blow. It was a spout of water which sparkled in the air," he said. "It was an amazing sight."
TV stations followed the marine mammal with live coverage as it wandered into shallow water near the muddy banks of the tidal waterway. The whale appeared to get stuck several times, and officials wearing yellow jackets could be seen running up and down the shoreline at low tide trying to push it back into deeper water.
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue group said it would help the whale if it became stranded. A police boat accompanied the whale, apparently to shield it from other ships in the river.
Richard Sabian, a zoologist at the Natural History Museum in London, said such whales rarely swim in the nearby English Channel, and this was the first sighting of one in the River Thames since the museum began recording them in 1913.
A minke whale was seen in the Thames about six years ago, but not as far downstream, the museum said.
"The fact that it is swimming upstream is not a good sign," said Alison Shaw, a manager of the Zoological Society of London, Marine & Freshwater Conservation Program. "The whale must be confused or ill."
The Northern bottlenose whale is found in the North Atlantic and can reach nearly 30 feet in length and weigh nearly 8 tons.
They are known as curious animals, readily approaching boats and normally traveling in groups, according to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society's Web site.
"The whale's chances are not particularly good," Sabian said. "We hope it will swim back to sea."
Mark Simmonds, director of the Science, Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society, said the whale may be debilitated.
"When whales turned up in strange places before, they have been old, sick or wounded," Simmonds said.