Whale put down after becoming stranded in River Thames in London iwradio.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from iwradio.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The BDMLR said the injured and drained calf would struggle to swim even if it managed to get back into deeper water.
Crews had already worked for hours before being able to free the whale early Monday from a perilous stranding on a lock near Richmond, a few miles downstream of Teddington.
But as the mammal was being taken for further health checks on an inflatable pontoon, it slipped back into the water.
“This animal is very, very lost,” Port of London Authority spokesman Martin Garside said. “It’s like seeing a camel at the North Pole.”
Garside said a whale had never been seen this far up the Thames before, 95 miles (150 kilometers) along the river from its mouth, with the sheer distance making the whale s route back to safety extremely difficult.
A minke whale stranded along the River Thames is to be put down, rescuers have said.
Crowds gathered at Teddington Lock in south-west London on Monday to catch a glimpse of the animal, thought to be between 10ft (3m) and 13ft (4m) long.
But the whale is now due to be put to sleep as it would not survive on its own in the sea, Julia Cable, national co-ordinator at the British Divers Marine Life Rescue service, said.
A Minke whale near Teddington Lock (Yui Mok/PA)
“The vets are here from London Zoo.
“They will give the whale a large anaesthetic dose which will put it to sleep,” Ms Cable said.
The whale was first spotted on Sunday afternoon Credit: PA
A baby whale stranded along the River Thames has been put to sleep after efforts to guide it to open water failed.
The minke whale was first spotted in the Thames around Richmond Lock on Sunday afternoon and was successfully refloated in the early hours of Monday morning.
At the time it was already showing signs of injury and fatigue.
Julia Cable from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue said the mammal was given a “large anaesthetic dose”.
She said vets from London Zoo administered the dose and the whale won t have felt anything.
A minke whale stranded along the River Thames is to be put down, rescuers have said.
Crowds gathered at Teddington Lock in south-west London on Monday to catch a glimpse of the animal, thought to be between 10ft (3m) and 13ft (4m) long.
But the whale is now due to be put to sleep as it would not survive on its own in the sea, Julia Cable, national co-ordinator at the British Divers Marine Life Rescue service, said.
A Minke whale near Teddington Lock (Yui Mok/PA)
“The vets are here from London Zoo.
“They will give the whale a large anaesthetic dose which will put it to sleep,” Ms Cable said.