On January 20th, thousands of Londoners gathered along the banks of the River Thames to witness the appearance of two northern bottlenose whales swimming down the river, passing by both Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
Tom Howard-Vyne, one of the witnesses, shared: “I saw one whale swimming under the Westminster Bridge, near Big Ben. It leaped out of the shimmering water, creating a stunning image.” Meanwhile, on the opposite bank of the river, many others also spotted a second northern bottlenose whale.
However, the presence of these whales raised concerns among many wildlife conservation experts. Laila Sadle, a zoologist at the Royal Society, stated: “A whale swimming in a shallow river like the Thames is akin to someone getting lost in the Sahara Desert. If it doesn’t escape as quickly as possible, it can only survive for 24 to 48 hours.”
According to the Natural History Museum in London, this is the second time that Londoners have witnessed a northern bottlenose whale in the River Thames, the first occurrence being in 1913. This event has also made headlines in hundreds of newspapers, radio stations, and television networks across the UK.
