| The Thames Whale
In January 2006, a Northern bottlenose whale swam up the River Thames in London, grabbing the attention of the world's media and earning her place in history.
 Liz Sandeman, Director of Operations for the Marine Connection remembers the occasion well, “On January 20 2006 I received a call from BDMLR asking for my assistance, a whale had been sighted at Westminster Bridge and would I accompany the RNLI to assess the animal's health and confirm the species - I jumped at the opportunity! As it was early morning and the news had not yet spread, I enjoyed some quiet time observing, in London's wintry sunshine, what turned out to be a female Northern bottlenose whale. It was very strange seeing such a creature in the Thames.I took a series of images, some of the first taken of the whale in the upper Thames. Over the next few days one of these images (of the whale swimming past the House of Commons) became infamous – and this particular Marine Connection image was used extensively by the world's media when covering the whale's story”.
Sadly 30 hours later, the whale was dead, having succumbed to several factors including dehydration, muscle damage and reduction in kidney function. However the animal was probably in trouble from day one – 40 miles from the sea, without access to any food remotely like the deepwater squid favoured by this species. There were also concerns over the noise from boats – what impact would these have on an already vulnerable and confused animal? As the media got hold of the story: more boats rushed to the scene, with helicopters flying overhead, everyone trying to get a view of the whale in the Thames. The Marine Connection’s phone lines were jammed with calls from television, radio and press representatives’ worldwide, all seeking further information.
This was the first sighting of this species in the Thames since records began in 1913, though other cetaceans have, wittingly or otherwise, visited London's waterway during this time. The sense of goodwill towards the creature was incredible, with thousands of people along the riverbank on the day of the actual rescue, everyone hoping it could be returned to the open sea. Sadly, it wasn't to be; a very distressing outcome for all involved in the rescue effort.
After many months of preparation, in January 2007 the whale’s 16 ft skeleton, complete with 39 vertebrae, three ribs and skull was put on display for six days at the Guardian Newsroom in London. Over 2,000 people visited the exhibition.
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Northern bottlenose whales are normally seen far further north in the Atlantic off Norway, in the Barents Sea and, in summer months, off northern Britain and Ireland. |
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