Whale spotted in river Thames, Central London
{{date|January 20, 2006}}

<!--[[Image:A Bottle-nosed Whale in London Town.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The whale, as spotted by [http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaded/88967034/ Mr Jaded]]]-->
[[Image:Thames Whale Crowds.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Crowds watching the rescue operation]]
[[Image:Thames Whale Battersea Bridge.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Crowds line [[w:Battersea Bridge|Battersea Bridge]] watching the rescue]]

A 15ft (4.5 meter) [[w:northern bottle-nosed whale|northern bottle-nosed whale]] has been spotted swimming in the river Thames in Central London, UK. The "[[w:Thames whale|Thames whale]]" managed to swim up past the Thames barrier and under many bridges, reaching as far as Chelsea before it turned around just before Albert Bridge.

TV news helicopters scrambled to provide live TV footage of the whale, and many spectators lined the banks of the river. 

The whale is said to be looking healthy, although some fear that the whale may beach itself as it tried to do before rescuers forced it back into the middle of the river. Normally found in the North Atlantic, there have been sightings of a second whale near Southend.

A vet, having examined the whale, reported that the animal was not swimming purposefully, has some damage around the head area and is losing blood from numerous cuts on its underside. It was last seen floating downstream with the current; its present whereabouts are unknown. 

==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4631396.stm
|title=Whale spotted in central London
|author=
|pub=BBC News Online
|date=January 20, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1691203,00.html
|title=Whale swims up Thames
|author=|pub=The Guardian
|date=January 20, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/20/uwhale.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/01/20/ixportaltop.html
|title=Whale swims up the Thames to Westminster
|author=|pub=The Telegraph|date=January 20, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article339944.ece
|title=Whale swims up Thames to Westminster|author=Nick Allen|pub=The Independent|date=January 20, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1209846,00.html
|title=Fears For Whale|author=Sky News|pub=Sky News Online|date=January 20, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.channel4.com/news/content/news-storypage.jsp?id=926020
|title= Fears growing for whale in the Thames
|author=|pub=Channel 4 News (Britain)|date=20th January, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1691767,00.html
|title=The day London went whale watching  
|author=|pub=The Guardian
|date=January 21, 2006}}

{{publish}}

{{archive}}
[[Category:Wackynews]]
[[Category:London]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Whales]]
[[Category:Animal rights]]

[[de:Wal in London gesichtet]]
[[es:Una ballena remonta el Támesis hasta el centro de Londres]]
[[pt:Baleia nada pelo Tâmisa, em pleno centro de Londres]]
Crowds watching the rescue operation
Battersea Bridge watching the rescue

A 15ft (4.5 meter) northern bottle-nosed whale has been spotted swimming in the river Thames in Central London, UK. The "Thames whale" managed to swim up past the Thames barrier and under many bridges, reaching as far as Chelsea before it turned around just before Albert Bridge.

TV news helicopters scrambled to provide live TV footage of the whale, and many spectators lined the banks of the river. 

The whale is said to be looking healthy, although some fear that the whale may beach itself as it tried to do before rescuers forced it back into the middle of the river. Normally found in the North Atlantic, there have been sightings of a second whale near Southend.

A vet, having examined the whale, reported that the animal was not swimming purposefully, has some damage around the head area and is losing blood from numerous cuts on its underside. It was last seen floating downstream with the current; its present whereabouts are unknown. 


de:Wal in London gesichtet
es:Una ballena remonta el Támesis hasta el centro de Londres
Baleia nada pelo Tâmisa, em pleno centro de Londres
Wackynews London United Kingdom Whales Animal rights