Baby Minke Whale Had to Be Euthanized After Getting Stranded at Thames River

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). 

Concerns for the suffering calf, which pectoral fin had been damaged and has noticeably lost weight, grew as the mammal fought for its life many hundreds of miles away from its summer hunting grounds in the North Atlantic Ocean.In spite of further efforts by authorities to save it, the number of its injuries and it's mother's absence made rehabilitation of the animal impossible.

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The Rescue Attempt

National Co-ordinator at British Divers Marine Life Rescue, Julia Cable said: "They're going to make the whale fall asleep. It's in great pain, it has been for close to the last 45 minutes," as Reuters reported. "It's often sad, but we now know that letting it back out into the open water  would have been sending it to die of hunger out there."

Being very young and far away from home, the whale was not capable of taking care of itself in the absence of a mother or group. After getting away from the rescue attempt, the whale got to shallower water, swimming farther westward to the Thames.

After it was stuck again, over 145 kilometers (90 miles) from the opening to the North Sea in the Thames Estuary, rescuers were left with no choice but to put down the calf. A dangerous overdose of anesthetic was given to it. Minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) are the smallest of the great whales, developing to approximately 8 to 9 m (26 to 30 feet ) in length.

(Photo : Getty Images)

Inquisitive Minke Whale

They are commonly seen throughout the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, with ranges that stretch from the Arctic Ocean ice edge during summer to within the reach of the equator in winter. It is highly uncommon for a minke whale to be seen in the River Thames, and officials are finding it difficult to explain how it was found so far from home without any indication of a family or a mother close by. 

Minke whales are notoriously curious, however, a trait that could have made this calf off track and into danger. Danny Groves, of Whale and Dolphin Conservation, said to Reuters: "This whale could have become lost while trying to catch a prey, or could be injured or sick." 

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