Whale Spotted In Central London

[drbastard]

Last Updated: Friday, 20 January 2006, 12:36 GMT

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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 up steam 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."



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Do you have any pictures or moving footage of the whale? If so, you can send them to [email protected] or MMS them to 07725 100 100

Click here for terms and conditions on sending photos and video

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4631396.stm

 

[Sthenno]

Isn't there something on Brass Eye about politicians towing whales up to Westwinster for some sinister purpose?

 

[WhistlingJack]

The rumours that it's Fat Frank going for a paddle aren't true, then? :?

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

They reckon the next hour will be critical for him (they are calling him Steve on the radio) - they reckon he is old, parasite ridden or got some kind of tumour so its posisble he has come to make it a whale's graveyard. However, they might be able to get him back to sea tides allowing.

Fingers crossed.

 

[Steveash5]

What a good name. I have even more empathy for him now.

Though 'Central London seen in whale' would have been even more Fortean!

 

[mejane]

Um, has the London Aquarium got a big hole in their window and a lower than average food bill? Just asking...

Jane.

 

[Stormkhan]

Just make sure the Japanse tourists don't spot the poor bugger - they'll be looking for scientific excuses.

 

[mejane]

A somewhat confusing update from the BBC...

Lost whale 'seen heading for sea'

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.

Fears had been growing for the 16-18ft (5m) northern bottle-nosed whale which came as far upstream as Chelsea.

But now rescuers searching the east London stretch of river hope the sighting was accurate and it will continue to swim downstream.

Experts feared the animal could put itself in danger by becoming beached.

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."

Teams had been becoming increasingly worried as there had been no sighting of the whale since 1815 GMT at Chelsea Bridge.

This latest development will give hope to the hundreds of thousands of people who have been following the progress of the whale, which is usually found in deep sea water.

It was first spotted at 0830 GMT on Friday by a man on a train and has since attracted massive public and media attention.

Crowds gathered along the riverbanks to witness the extraordinary spectacle.

But it soon became clear there was cause for concern, as the animal came within yards of the banks, almost beaching, and crashed into an empty boat causing slight bleeding.

Alan Knight, of the British Divers Life Marine Rescue Group, said if the whale does go ashore, teams could then check its health.

He said if it appears thin, it may be coming in to die, and added: "In which case we will euthanize it and consider it a success because it has not caused more suffering."

If well however, a system of pontoons will be used to try to refloat it by lifting it into a boat and taking it out to sea, he said.

"It is a very unusual thing and we have never done it before with a whale this size. It might float, it might not."

He added that the whale was damaging itself by coming ashore.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

It's nice to know that Steve the Whale will be safe from trigger-happy tourists as he'll be "euthanised" for his own good if he looks a bit thin

Jane.

 

[TheQuixote]

Steve's being checked over right now - they've managed to get him in a sling as he'd managed to beach himself when the tide dropped.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4633878.stm

 

[eburacum]

They are calling this whale 'Steve', eh?

That's my name...

I noticed that some of the pictures of this whale look remarkably similar to the old engravings of whales you used to get scribbled in the corners of old maps; here is a map made by Olaus Magnus in the 16th century,
compared to Steve's profile.

I used to think that those old pictures were drawn by artists who had never seen a whale; well, perhaps they had only seen Northern Bottleneck whales (which is quite possible I suppose).

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Just make sure the Japanse tourists don't spot the poor bugger - they'll be looking for scientific excuses.

Interestingly there was a whale in the middle of Berlin too the other day - I think it was some kind of take away dleivery:

Dead whale left outside embassy

A huge beached whale has been dumped outside the Japanese embassy in Berlin. in a Greenpeace anti-whaling protest.

The controversial environmental activists hauled the fin whale to Berlin from the Baltic coast after finding it beached on a sandbank.

The dead whale measured 17m (56ft) long and weighed 20 tonnes.

Activists are trying to demonstrate that there is no need to kill the mammals for research - as Japan does - because cadavers can be found.

Japan is expected to kill 935 minke whales in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary during the first four months of 2006.

The International Whaling Commission imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986, but Japan resumed whale hunting the following year.

Critics dispute Japan's claim to be whaling for scientific purposes, saying whale meat often ends up on restaurant tables.

A Greenpeace banner in Berlin read: "Science doesn't need harpoons! Stop the senseless whaling!"

The fin whale in Berlin - between 10 and 20 years old - is believed to have got lost in the Baltic while looking for herring. Its normal habitat is the North Atlantic.

The whale is due to be taken to Stralsund on the coast for scientific examination after the Greenpeace protest.

-----------
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/e ... 627178.stm

Published: 2006/01/19 10:38:16 GMT

© BBC MMVI

 

[Stormkhan]

I noticed that some of the pictures of this whale look remarkably similar to the old engravings of whales you used to get scribbled in the corners of old maps; here is a map made by Olaus Magnus in the 16th century, compared to Steve's profile.

The resemblence is uncanny - perhaps ol' Ollie spotted a bottle-nose.

Then again, there is a familial likeness to William Hague ... and he only got so close to Westminster before being driven away.

 

[KeyserXSoze]

The poor whale is dead :cry:

 

[KeyserXSoze]

Whales as omens:

One exception to this was considered to be the sudden appearance of a whale in an area of sea not normally associated with whale schools. This was thought to indicate the arrival of problems not just for a family but often for a community and therefore this event was treated as a powerful omen. The killing of whales in some countries has been banned, and although the reasons for this action do not directly relate to tradition it is interesting to note that it has long been thought that the killing would ensure that disaster will befall the person and community that continues to ignore the power of these creatures.

:shock:Source
:shock: More

An aquatic portent
(Filed: 21/01/2006)

'And even the like precurse of fierce events / As harbingers preceding still the fates / And prologue to the omen coming on…" In Shakespeare, mighty events are heralded by portents, such as the presence of strange, out-of-place animals.

Indeed, the death of Cromwell in 1658 was preceded by the arrival of a large whale in the River Thames. What does yesterday's visitor portend? A currency crash? War with Iran? It cannot come to good.

One thing is encouraging. The 1658 whale suffered at the hands of Londoners: as John Evelyn recorded, "after a long conflict it was killed with the harping irons… after an horrid groan it ran quite on shore, and died".

Yesterday, the whole nation was willing the whale to life and freedom. Sentimental zoophiles we may be, but we recognise a harmless beast of awe and beauty. The whale was welcome in Westminster.

 

[Timble2]

If the whale had survived she'd only have had to worry about sharks. The rescuers, however....

Whale rescuers' £300 parking bill


Rescue charity workers who battled in vain to save a whale found swimming up the River Thames are now facing a bill of more than £300 in parking fines.

Alan Knight, the British Divers Marine Rescue Group chairman, said cars were parked by Vauxhall Bridge on meters.

But in a race against time to get the mammal to safety, the volunteers jumped on the rescue barge and did not return until Saturday night.

The 19ft whale has now been confirmed as an adolescent female.

She first surfaced on Friday morning in central London and throughout the day captured the attention of thousands of Londoners who flocked to the river banks.

But she rapidly became disorientated and distressed, prompting the seven-hour rescue operation aimed at getting her back to her natural habitat in deep sea waters.
"It upsets me a bit that we are facing over £300 worth of bills," said Mr Knight, who was in charge of the rescue operation.

"I guess they have got a job to do. However, all of our cars have 'marine ambulance' on the side or 'marine medics'... and I would have hoped they would have given us the benefit of the doubt."

He added that as a small charity with limited funds, it already faces a steep rescue bill of £5,000.

"We are hoping the public will show some of the enthusiasm they showed for the rescue by donating to us," he added.

The charity is also hoping to raise funds by auctioning a red watering can used in the rescue attempt on the internet.

Disease fear

Meanwhile, a post-mortem examination of the northern bottle-nosed whale has taken place in Gravesend, Kent, where she died.

Findings from the examination conducted by marine expert Paul Jepson are expected to be released on Wednesday.

There is some uncertainty about what will happen to the carcass.

Mr Knight said it could be buried in a landfill site or be incinerated, adding there was some concern over zoonotic diseases which can be passed from animals to humans.

The Maritime Coastguard Agency said the whale was not its responsibility because it died on a barge rather than land.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/e ... 638790.stm

Published: 2006/01/23 11:52:06 GMT

© BBC MMVI

 

[feen5]

Can't believe the miserable bastards issued them with traffic tickets. They should have the remains of the whale placed on truck and then illegally parked so it can be towed. After a few weeks of having the remains of a whale stinking up their compound they may think twice about being so bloody miserable in the future.

 

[OneWingedBird]

What will happen to the whale now?

An attempt to save a whale stranded in the River Thames failed on Saturday. So what will happen to its carcass now?

Usually found in the North Atlantic one bottle-nosed whale ended up in the Thames this weekend and became worldwide news, with thousands of people flocking to the river to see it.

Whales have been spotted in the estuary but never as far upstream as central London. It is the first time this type of whale has been seen in the Thames since records began in 1913.

A rescue operation was launched to try to save it but ended in tragedy on Saturday night when the whale died after being lifted onto a barge trying to take it back out to sea. So what happens now?

Marine biologists from the Zoological Society of London carried out a post-mortem on the seven-ton female whale in a secluded riverfront yard in Gravesend, Kent, on Sunday.

Toxic

They took blubber samples and examined damage to the 15ft northern whale's skin. They also studied the echo response areas of the brain which could reveal if they were damaged, causing the animal to become distracted.

The samples are currently being examined in the laboratories of ZSL at Regent's Park. Preliminary result are due on Wednesday. When the tests are complete the whale's body will be released for disposal.

By a statute of 1324, whales - though mammals - are classed as "fishes royal" - belonging to the Queen. When one dies stranded on crown or public land an official called the Receiver of Wreck - employed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency - usually decides what to do with it.

But as this whale died in the middle of the Thames on a barge belonging to the Port of London Authority (PLA), what to do with it is the responsibility of the authority.

A decision has been made to give the body to the Natural History Museum after all the tests are complete and it will clean the bones and preserve them for scientific research.

The museum has had the right to examine all whale carcasses that wash ashore in Britain since 1913.

In most cases when it comes to disposing of the flesh, if a carcass contains poisonous substances - from chemicals dumped in the sea - it will be classed as toxic waste and have to be incinerated. If untoxic, it will probably be disposed of in a landfill site.

As for the voluntary organisation that tried to rescue the whale, British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), there is no onus on the government, the city, the Queen or anyone else to cover the cost of the rescue attempt, which reportedly includes more than £300 worth of parking fines.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4638928.stm

 

[MaxMolyneux]

Aren't they preserving his bones for the natural history museum?

What are they going to do with the rest of it?

Can;t waste it.

 

[Kathy_Pike]

Aren't they preserving his bones for the natural history museum?

What are they going to do with the rest of it?

Can;t waste it.

There's a large whale skeleton outside one of the lecture theatres in Cambridge. The rib cage was great for locking bikes to!

 

[Kazza34]

Whale died from 'multiple causes'

Well it happened again in 2006. Here's a brief snippet of the article on bbc.co.uk for the full article go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4645726.stm

A post-mortem examination on the whale which became stranded in the River Thames showed it died from dehydration, muscle damage and failing kidneys.
The preliminary findings showed it had been unable to feed for three days.

The 19.2ft (5.85m) female northern bottle-nosed whale died on Saturday as rescuers tried to take it back out to the open sea.

It first surfaced on Friday after mistakenly swimming into the North Sea and up the Thames, experts said.

They said it may have been trying to head west to the Atlantic Ocean where it could feed on deep sea squid, but made a wrong turning, ending up near Chelsea Bridge in the heart of London.

 

[nataraja]

I hope they have preserved the body of that northern bottlenose whale - AFAIK it's one of the beaked whales (Ziphiidae), which are an extremely mysterious and poorly known family (possibly the least understood of any known mammal family). Initially the news reports i saw said it was thought to be a (much commoner and better known, hence a reasonable guess) pilot whale, and even after seeing the first photos of it i thought it would be something within the dolphin family, but given how few live or recently dead beaked whales have ever been encountered, this one could be a real find for science...

 

[Kondoru]

This is fishy (sic)

particularly as its a beaked Whale....

a whale turns up in the Thames, doesnt leave of its own accord.

NHM checks specimeins and says `ah! we need another of those! bag it!`

Whale is diagnosed as ailing and discreetly bumped off.

Whos to know the truth?

Or else the rescuers found it was too big to handle.

 

[tastyintestines]

Whale soul for sale -- one tragic owner

Fri Feb 3, 2:20 PM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - It used to be a practice confined to pacts with the devil, but now an anonymous vendor in America is offering to sell the soul of the London whale.
ADVERTISEMENT

The Northern Bottlenosed Whale died two weeks ago after swimming up the River Thames into central London.

"I was accompanying the poor whale in his last journey, and he handed his soul to me. He asked me to sell it, so I could invest the money raised in other bottlenosed whales," said the seller from Minneapolis, giving the whale the wrong gender.

It is not the first item of whale-related memorabilia to go up for sale on Internet auction site eBay.

The watering can used to keep the female whale wet as rescuers vainly tried to ship her back out to sea on January 21 was sold Wednesday for 2,050 pounds ($3,642), and someone is even trying to sell water from the river on the grounds the whale swam through it.

The soul seller describes the proud possession as "100 percent soul" and promises to ship it anywhere in the world.

"This soul will only increase in value in the future," wrote the vendor.

Illustrated with a picture purporting to be of a whale's brain, the only bid registered to date is for just $1.

No one from e-bay was immediately available to comment.


link


edited by TheQuixote: fixed link

 

[Kondoru]

Does this soul have the correct documentation?

is the alleged owner the legal owner??

Methinks Yahoo publicising this will only get bidders

If Ebay allow it to continue (I hope they will not)

 

[rynner2]

Lost Thames whale had arthritis

The whale which lost its way and became stranded in the river Thames in January, was suffering from arthritis, scientists examining its remains said.
The 11-year-old female northern bottlenose was suffering from severe pain in her neck, according to experts at the Natural History Museum.

The 19.2ft (5.85m) whale first surfaced on 20 January after mistakenly swimming into the North Sea and up the Thames.

It died a day later as rescuers tried to take it towards deeper waters.

Experts said the whale may have been trying to head west to the Atlantic Ocean where it could feed on deep sea squid, but took a wrong turn, ending up near Chelsea Bridge in the heart of London.

Painful joints

The curator of the Natural History Museum, Richard Sabin, who has been examining the whale's preserved bones for the past eight months, said the creature may have been in a lot of pain.


The whale was dehydrated and starving for nearly a week

"We found pitting on her atlas vertebra, which joins her spine to her skull.

"It's a degenerative joint disease which in humans is called arthritis.

"Deep-diving whales put their skeletons through lots of punishment," he said.

Experts who carried out an autopsy on the whale said it was dehydrated and had been starving for nearly a week.

Without its normal squid diet, it was unable to rehydrate, they said.

The Museum is storing the whale's bones in its south London warehouse.

The entire skeleton will be kept for scientific research and made available to scientists from around the world.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5312236.stm

 

[rynner2]

Thames whale verdict: we killed it
Will Iredale

MILLIONS watched on televi-sion or lined the banks of the Thames to cheer on rescue teams as they vainly tried to save her. Now an autopsy on the female northern bottlenose whale that swam up the river in London last January has indicated that humans not only failed to save the creature but were largely to blame for her death.

In her final weeks, the whale was poisoned, starved and possibly disoriented by the sonar booms of the oil industry. In the end the well-meaning attempts to save the animal may have hastened her death.

The whale, hundreds of miles from her north Atlantic hunting grounds, was so desperate for food that in her last minutes she was scavenging through the muddy shallows of the river.

After her death the animal was cut up by the government-funded cetacean strandings project and pieces sent to experts round Britain to chart her final days and establish how she died.

Preliminary results from a post–mortem earlier this year suggested dehydration and muscle and kidney damage had contributed to the whale’s death at the age of about six years. Its typical life expectancy is 40 to 50 years.

Experts have found that her last meals consisted of algae from the riverbed, part of a rubber glove worn by one of the rescuers and a small potato.

“The potato was right at the front of its stomach so it is probably something it swallowed as little as an hour before it died,” said Colin MacLeod, a marine biologist from Aberdeen University who carried out the autopsy on the whale’s stomach.

“It was probably so hungry by then it may just have seen the potato floating in the river and gone for it. The algae grows on docks and the riverbed.”

The northern bottlenose whale has seven or eight stomachs and the examination showed that her last decent meal was at least two weeks before her death. It consisted of hundreds of squid, of which only the beaks remained, lodged in the whale’s deepest stomach.

By contrast, the potato, rubber and algae was found in the stomach nearest her mouth.

An analysis of the whale’s blubber and liver by a government laboratory in Essex showed her body was laced with toxic chemicals used in paints, electronics, pesticides and detergents. The most toxic were PCBs, banned in the 1970s.

This finding suggests pollution may be reaching farther out to sea than previously thought, as northern bottlenose whales are deep-sea feeders.

The scientists’ findings — to be shown on a Channel 4 documentary this Thursday — also suggest humans played a role in the whale ending up hundreds of miles from her usual habitat.

Northern bottlenoses spend much of their time in the Norwegian Sea and the Arctic. Summer migration takes them southwest into the north Atlantic Ocean.

However, MacLeod said possible changes in water temperature caused by climate change had driven her main food, the gonatus armhook squid, southwards into the North Sea.

“If the whale then followed its natural migratory instincts to go south and west it will find all its pathways blocked by coastline,” said MacLeod.

One other theory is that the whale’s disorientation was caused by ships’ sonar.

Some have blamed the Royal Navy. But Professor Rodney Coates, an expert in marine acoustics, says the culprits may instead have been ships exploring for oil off the coast of Scot-land. They fire soundwaves at the seabed from giant guns every few seconds for weeks on end, analysing echoes for the possible presence of oil and gas.

After entering the Thames from the English Channel, the whale swam 33 miles up the river to Battersea Bridge.

When attempts to usher her back to sea failed 48 hours later, rescuers tried to lift her onto a barge to carry her out to sea. Experts now admit they may have put an unbearable strain on the whale by lifting her out of the river and losing the support of the water. The 19ft whale weighed some four tons, about the same as an African elephant.

Just one hour after being loaded onto the barge the whale died, her main organs failing through shock.

The whale is to be picked over further in the name of science. her bones will be compared with bottlenose bones from 100 years ago at the Natural History Museum in London so that changes in pollution and the marine environment can be charted.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0, ... _2,00.html

PS: according to the previous article, the whale was about 11 years old.

 

[Kondoru]

No, the NHM could not resist such a rare specimein landing on their doorstep.

A Ziphidae is not something you come across every day.

I agree that whales are disorientated by sonar...thats why our beaches are littered with them, isnt it?

This whale was just plumb lost, I think.