Thames whale - as it happened: Beluga 'Benny' heads further upstream towards London as fears increase
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Your support makes all the difference.A beluga whale has found itself in the Thames, dangerously close to London.
Members of the public have been asked to stay away as experts attempt to keep the sea mammal safe.
But conservationists fear that the animal might have got itself into danger after it has swum so far upstream. It is the first sighting of one of the animals – which tend to live in the Arctic – in years.
The whale spent its second day being watched by the public. As it drew to a close, conservationists will be hoping that second day will be the last, and that Benny will make its way back into the sea and won't be spotted again.
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Benny has moved back east - the ‘right’ way. But not too far, and certainly not enough to give any hope about heading back for the sea just yet.
The whale has not moved in the last half hour or so, really. Keeps popping up, flapping about, and popping back in again. But that’s all, really — there’s no sign that he’s beginning any journey back out of the Thames.
The big question will soon become - what happens, now? The mood here is a mix between excitement and sadness, at seeing an amazing animal but only because something is wrong. It means that people are just sort of hanging around, unsure of when to leave. But they are starting to go, aware that it doesn’t look likely there’ll be any big news today.
If you’re here, the main activity you would see is the boat that’s going up and down the river carrying people from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue. (That’s the boat I was talking about earlier.) it’s been doing much the same all day, tracking the whale and keeping an eye on it, because there’s little more that can be done.
That organisation is voluntary and exists for exactly this kind of situation. You can read more about them on their website, which is packed with useful information: http://www.bdmlr.org.uk/
There are two boats following the beluga around now. Which are occasionally interrupted by other, much bigger, ships.
Another helicopter has arrived, this time apparently to film. The watchers on the riverbank are irritated by the noise – and so too might be the dolphin, accordingly conservationists. They warned that exactly this sort of thing shouldn’t happen, and that the whale should be given space.
The day draws to an end, with the whale still swimming about and the world still watching. A little strangely, conservationists will be hoping that they don't spot the whale again tomorrow – because in the best case scenario it will make its way back to the sea, never to be seen again.
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