May 11, 2021 01:55 PM EDT
The baby whale was by itself and hundreds of miles from home. On Monday an injured baby minke whale that was helplessly stranded in the River Thames was put down after all hope for its survival was lost by rescuers.
(Photo : Getty Images)
The Discovery
On Sunday the 9th of May, the 3 meters (10-foot-long) whale calf was initially discovered confined inside a concrete lock in Richmond, London. Hundreds of people assembled to observe rescuers float the animal again and drag it out heading for deeper water, but the whale loose its balance from the balloon-like cushion it had been kept in and started to swim back away from the sea (upriver).
Reuters Reuters
11 May, 2021, 5:03 pm
Flowers left on a three-metre minke whale calf lie after is has been put down on the banks of the River Thames in London, Britain May 10, 2021 REUTERS/Tom Nicholson
LONDON (Reuters) -An injured minke whale calf which became stranded in London’s River Thames was put down on Monday after its condition deteriorated and hopes for its survival faded, hundreds of miles from its home.
The whale had been spotted by a Reuters photographer swimming upstream in the Thames after rescuers had refloated it to save its life, but it became stuck again.
Despite the efforts of rescuers from the Port of London Authority, Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI), British Divers Marine Life Rescue, London Fire Brigade and the police, the whale was put down.
May 11, 2021
LONDON (AP) Hopes faded Monday for a young minke whale who became trapped in the River Thames near London, authorities said.
Rescuers trying to recapture the whale said that by 5 p.m. (1600 GMT; 12 p.m. EDT) its condition had deteriorated rapidly and it would soon be stranded by the dropping tide near Teddington in southwest London.
“Once the whale is beached a veterinary team will be on stand by to euthanize the animal to end its suffering,” the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said in a statement.
The BDMLR said the injured and drained calf would struggle to swim even if it managed to get back into deeper water.
499 Rescue attempts are made as a small whale stranded in the River Thames is seen in this picture obtained from social media in London. DAVID KORSAKS @dkfitldn/via REUTERS
LONDON, May 10
A three-metre minke whale calf was refloated early on Monday after it was found injured and beached on concrete in the River Thames just west of London but the animal s life hangs in the balance as it is so young and so far from home.
A special team of rescuers from Port of London Authority, Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI), British Divers Marine Life Rescue, London Fire Brigade and the police worked for hours through the night to refloat the whale.
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