Fears are growing for a whale spotted in the River Thames swimming past Parliament and the London Eye.
A second whale has been seen in Southend-on-Sea, prompting speculation of a parent separated from its offspring.
The whale in the Thames was beached a couple of times in the shallows as passers by attempted to usher it back out into deeper water.
Blood has appeared around the whale’s tail prompting worries for the animal’s safety.
Richard Sabin, whales and dolphins expert at the Natural History Museum, said it is the first sighting of the species on the Thames since records began in 1913.
Alan Knight, of The British Divers Marine Life Rescue group, said they had first received reports of the creature making its way up the Thames yesterday.
He said: “Yesterday, we had a report of two whales going up the Thames and we sent divers but we only found one.
“About 6pm it went back out again past the barrier and we thought it was gone.
“Then at 8.30am today we got a phone call from someone on a train who thought they had just hallucinated and seen a whale going up the Thames near Waterloo Bridge.”
Sperm whales – which grow to 14 metres – have been spotted in the Thames Estuary and 10 years ago a minke whale died after becoming stranded on the shore of the Thames at Purfleet, Essex.
A family of harbour porpoises were once spotted feasting on fish off Vauxhall Bridge in the centre of the capital, while common seals have been regular visitors to the waters around Canary Wharf, the Thames Barrier and near Tower Bridge.
Dolphins have been reported enjoying the waters near Southend in Essex, just inside the mouth of the river.
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Strange.
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