Beluga whale turns up in Thames

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A BELUGA whale has been spotted in the River Thames by an ecologist.

The Sun reports that birding expert Dave Andrews saw the white whale, which an expert has confirmed to be a Beluga, at 11am today near Gravesend, Kent.

He tweeted: “Can’t believe I’m writing this, no joke — BELUGA in the Thames off Coalhouse Fort”.

He claims the whale has remained in the same spot for the last three hours as it has been feeding around the barges in the river.

Marine experts told the BBC it is “almost certainly” a Beluga whale and urged the public “to watch it from the shore”.

Belugas can weigh up to 1400kg and measure more than four metres long.

The Port of London authority confirmed it was aware of the video.

Sightings of Beluga whales are extremely rare on the coasts of the UK and normally only occur off the coast of Scotland, as this is closest to their native waters.

While Beluga whales usually travel in groups or ‘pods’, and a sighting of a solo whale could indicate it has got lost, or is disorientated.

Andrews has since sent the exact location of the sighting and now whale conservationists are worried an influx of whale-watchers will cause distress to the suspected Beluga.

Lucy from ORCA told The Sun: “We want to urge people not to disturb the animal. It’s out of range and probably distressed. People rushing to the site in boats or with drones will only disturb the whale and cause it more distress.

“If you wish to see the whale for yourself, stay on the shore and do not get in the water.”

The last time a whale was spotted in the River Thames was a bottlenose whale, now known as the River Thames Whale.

In January 2006 a female northern bottlenose whale swam up the Thames and caused hysteria in London.

She sadly died during a rescue mission near Battersea.

A spokesperson for Whale and Dolphin Conservation said: “Belugas are High Arctic species and this one is thousands of miles from where it should be! Belugas are usually associated close to the ice in places like Greenland, Svalbard or the Barents Sea.

“He or she is obviously very lost and quite possibly in trouble. There are a few reports of belugas in the UK in recent years.

“In the summer of 2015 two were spotted off the Northumberland coast and one in Northern Ireland. We would urge that the whale is given space and disturbance is kept to a minimum.”