Stranded whale in the River Thames put down
A minke whale who became stranded along the River Thames in south-west London has been put down.
Crowds gathered at Teddington Lock on Monday to spot the whale, thought to be between 10ft (3m) and 13ft (4m) long.
Julia Cable, national co-ordinator at the British Divers Marine Life Rescue service said that due to its “deteriorating condition”, the decision was made to put the animal to sleep.
She went on to say “The last 45 minutes we were with the whale its condition was deteriorating, its breathing wasn’t right and it wouldn’t have survived much longer,”
“It’s always sad, but we now know that putting it back out into the open sea would have been sending it to starve out there.”
Paul Roach, Deputy Launching Authority (DLA) at Teddington RNLI explains: ‘This was a very long shout starting at about 10am and going on beyond 8pm. It was a great effort by the crew who rotated amongst themselves, juggling work and domestic commitments to ensure we stayed afloat all day. It was also a great example of multi-agency cooperation between ourselves, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), BDMLR, the Environment Agency, Port of London Authority and the Metropolitan Police. Three local businesses also helped out where the drama unfolded; the Flying Cloud Cafe, Boathouse Design Studio and Teddington Harbour. It wasn’t the outcome any of us wanted but it wasn’t for lack of trying.’
Gianna Saccomani, Deputy Lifeboat Press Officer and Crew who was on the first D Class (D-743 Olwen and Tom) on scene at Teddington Weir added: ‘I would like to pay tribute to the volunteer lifeboat crew at Teddington RNLI. It was a long and emotional day for everyone involved. Our shore crew helped to ensure the safety of members of the public so near to the water’s edge.’
You can read more on the Teddington RNLI’s involvement here.
Photo credit Stuart Higgins
