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Aid campaign for whale at a barrage in London
Photo: DAVID KORSAKS @dkfitldn / via REUTERS
Whales are spotted in the Thames again and again - and cause a stir, especially when visiting the metropolis of London.
In the current case, however, one of the marine animals found itself in an unfortunate - and potentially life-threatening - situation.
The little minke whale was stuck in a lock.
The approximately four-meter-long animal had been in the lock since Sunday evening around 7 p.m. (local time).
Rescue teams assumed that it was stuck on a roller mechanism for ships.
In the evening they tried unsuccessfully to free the whale for hours.
Rescue divers as well as firefighters and biologists were on site.
This is located at the Richmond Lock in West London and more than 60 kilometers from the sea.
Hundreds of onlookers followed the work of the rescuers in the evening.
In addition to freeing the animal, the helpers also made sure that the whale's skin did not dry out.
Minke whales, also called minke whales, are among the smallest representatives of the baleen whales and can reach a body length of up to nine meters.
They are widespread in the seas of the northern hemisphere and are not considered endangered.
Unusual visitor even in the Mediterranean
Only after midnight did the helpers manage to free the animal from its predicament.
There is still no official information about the condition of the whale, a veterinary examination should bring clarity.
Onlookers, who were quoted by the BBC, among others, report visible injuries.
It is not the only whale that is making headlines these days: a young gray whale was spotted for the first time off the south coast of France and has apparently strayed from the Pacific into the Mediterranean.
The approximately 15-month-old animal had been observed several times in the past few days, the National Marine Mammal Stranding Network reported last Sunday.
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