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).