A young minke whale that found itself trapped in London’s Thames River on Sunday has been euthanized after the animal’s health and rescuers' attempts to save the creature failed.
According tothe Associated Press, the 13-foot whale was first spotted stranded in the river on Sunday night. The minke whale was spotted hundreds of miles away from where the Thames opens into the North Sea, a body of water home to numerous minke whales.
The rescue crews were able to free the whale from where it was stuck in the Thames early on Monday, but, unfortunately, the animal slipped back into the water while it was being moved for health checks.
Yui Mok/Press Association via AP
As rescuers worked to recapture the whale, it became clear to experts with the British Divers Marine Life Rescue that the animal’s health had deteriorated to the point where the whale would have difficulty surviving even if rescuers returned the animal to the ocean.
“They’re going to put the whale to sleep. It’s suffering quite badly,” Julia Cable, a national coordinator for BDMLR,told Reutersahead of the animal’s euthanization.
Press Association via AP
“We’re just trying to ease any suffering,” she added, noting the whale would be given an overdose of anesthetic and would only feel the prick of the needle before passing.
The RNLI later confirmed to Reuters that the whale was euthanized on Monday evening in the U.K.
It is unclear how the whale ended so far up the Thames, but Cable said the animal was likely still “maternally dependent” and would’ve had struggled to survive without its mother.
Danny Groves of Whale and Dolphin Conservation told Reuters that a boat strike, illness, or injury could be behind the late whale’s appearance in the Thames.
Minke whales are the smallest members of the baleen or “great” whale family, according toNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), and can grow to be 35 feet long. The marine mammal has an average lifespan of 50 years and is said to have a stable population, though commercial whaling practices have reduced the species' numbers.
source: people.com
