Whale swims up River Thames to central London

[Celebration]

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-01-20T153838Z_01_L20536170_RTRIDST_0_SCIENCE-BRITAIN-WHALE-DC.XML

LONDON (Reuters) - A small whale swam up the River Thames to central London on Friday, a rare event which drew large crowds of sightseers and brought traffic to a standstill.

But as the whale twice tried to ground itself before eventually finding slightly deeper water as the tide came in, concerns grew that it might not survive.

As the Northern Bottle-nosed Whale beached next to Chelsea Bridge, three men waded into the river hitting the water and then punching the air in celebration as it swam off.

But it soon beached again, prompting more people to jump into the water to move it on.

[FSogol]

1. Maybe its looking for the Japanese Embassy? n/t

[AnneD]

4. You be too bad..

FSogol.

[TroubleMan]

32. LOL!!

nt.

[yellowcanine]

2. Trying to score some fish and chips and wash them down with a pint?

[Az_lefty]

3. I lived in the Bay Area when Humphry the Humpback whale

swam up the Sacramento River. We chased that sucker around for days trying to drive him back into the bay. He finally went on his own accord.

[Pastiche423]

11. True, but he came back five years later

The second time he got stuck on a mud flat near Candlestick. It got un-stuck w/the help of the Coast Guard (I think) and swam back to sea.

I lived there too at the time. It was exciting and the news reporting was hilarious.

Wasn't that about the time the sea lions took over the docks at Fishermen's Wharf?

[Yavin4]

5. The Melting of Polar Ice Caps Is Pushing Ocean Life All Over

the globe?

[wordpix]

6. ocean pollution? Mercury poisoning?

[Solon]

9. Most likely lost and trying to find some food...

and yes, I saw the "fish and chips" joke already. Could also be sick, possibly from Mercury poisoning, the Thames could only make it worst though, like many rivers near cities, not exactly a healthy place to visit.

[Puzzler]

14. Maybe...

... but I think the Thames is now a relatively "clean" river, as far as big city rivers go. There was a big environmental push to clean the river up about 20-25 years ago. I remember a while back, one of the first signs of success: salmon returning.


-P

[0007]

29. Don't forget noise pollution

[jobycom]

7. There was probably a prophet inside the whale

who had been called by God to condemn Blair for his support of Bush. But the whale was too small, so Jonah got stuck in his gullet. Now the whale plans to swim around for a few days until the prophet can lose some weight and squeeze his way out, ala Winnie the Pooh.

There was another story about a whale in Corpus Christi Bay the other day. I guess that was the prophet God sent to Bush, thinking he'd be down in Crawford. Actually, the whale was a type that originally wintered on the east coast, so that poor prophet may have been stuck in there for weeks, wondering where that dumbass Bush was. If the toxic waters off Texas haven't killed him yet.

Man, I've got too much time on my hands. I better get back to work.

[Hardrada]

8. Good fantasy though!

[LeftyMom]

10. Japanese tourists in hot pursuit... nt

[Judi Lynn]

12. I just heard on radio news that they've been able to get it on a pontoon

barge and are racing it to the North Sea, hoping they can get it there in enough time to keep it well. I hope it works.

[DeepModem Mom]

13. PHOTO of whale being hoisted out of the Thames!

CNN: Rescuers used a crane to hoist a 5-ton whale from the River Thames in London today as thousands of people watched from the riverbanks. The animal has been placed on a barge to be taken back out to sea in a bid to save its life after it took a wrong turn and swam upstream into the heart of the city. A large crowd erupted in cheers and applause when the whale was lifted from the water.

http://www.cnn.com/

[Judi Lynn]

15. Wow. That's a wonderful photo. Sure hope it goes through just the way

it should. It would be great to see a happy ending.

[NYdemocrat089]

16. Breaking News from MSNBC: The Thames whale has died (Updated)

They said that the whale has died during the rescue effort.

Just found the link:

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13496367,00.html

[screembloodymurder]

17. Whales aren't dumb.

It was trying to warn us.

[alcibiades_mystery]

19. Huh?

What a bizarre claim. Warn us of what? And on what basis would a whale sacrifice itself to "warn" "us." Just plain weird.

[6th Borough]

20. ...and so quoth the whale, "so long, and thanks for all the fish." /EOM

[JVS]

22. That's dolphins!

[JVS]

21. A whale would be too smart to post something that stupid

[alcibiades_mystery]

24. Very persuasive post

I'm convinced. The whale was trying to warn the denizens of London about some impending catastrophe! It's the only possible explanation, as you so eloquently demonstrated...

:eyes:

[JVS]

25. I was referring to post 17, not yours

It was a bit of a joke on my part

[alcibiades_mystery]

26. My bad, then

:shrug:

[Judi Lynn]

18. Thank you for the news. Now we won't have to keep trying to find out.

It's very sad. People really wanted to see the adolescent whale find his way back home.

[meganmonkey]

23. Oh, that's so sad.

:(

[aaronbees]

27. That's heartbreaking...

:(

[Hermosa Beach Dem]

30. Probably due to global warming....

......thanks Bush....the blood of this whale is on your hands.

[caligirl]

28. Their calling him Prince of Whales before he died.

[Auntie Bush]

31. Maybe this will make you feel better.

something to warm the heart
Do Animals appreciate rescue?
This is from the SF Chronicle 12/15/2005

A female humpback whale became entangled in a web of crab traps & fishing lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds and had to struggle to stay afloat. She had hundreds of yards of rope wrapped around her body - her tail, her torso and a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralon Islands & radioed an
environmental group for help.

Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her - a very dangerous proposition. One slap of the tail could accidentally kill a rescuer. They worked for hours with knives and eventually freed her.

When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles, She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around - she thanked them.

Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.
The diver who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

May we all be so blessed in the New Year - to be untangled from the things that are binding us.

[Matilda]

33. Beautiful - thankyou.

But it makes the current Japanese slaughter even more cruel. If the
whales understand when people are trying to help them, they sure also
understand when they are being hunted down.