After two whales had been beached in the river Thames in October – a sperm whale and shortly after an endangered sei whale – another incident occurred at the end of November. The 8-foot mink whale had been seen swimming in the river earlier in the day before a dog-walker discovered the animal lying motionless near Battersea Bridge later in the evening. A rescue team from the Port of London Authority had to declare its death upon arrival at the scene.
As of now, it is not yet clear how it got there and why it died, but unnatural causes such as another ship strike or entanglement cannot be ruled out yet. The Zoological Society of London undertakes the post-mortem examination to – hopefully – answer these questions.
The mammal is the 27th mink whale to be stranded on UK’s shores this year. They are the most common baleen whale in the British waters.
The news can be found here: https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2019/12/01/english-news-eight-foot-whale-found-washed-up-on-river-thames-in-england/#.Xeur-W5FyZo
Comentarios