Britain watching lost beluga whale swimming in the River Thames

LONDON — Many remarkable things have emerged from the River Thames in its long, crowded and often filthy history, from pods of dolphins to unexploded World War II bombs. But few were as rare as the flash of pearly white spotted Tuesday afternoon near Coalhouse Fort, in a quiet stretch of the river in southeast England.

It was a beluga whale, jumping in and out of the river, hundreds of miles from its natural habitat in the far colder waters of the Arctic Circle.

The last time whales of this species were seen in British waters was in September 2015, off the Northumberland coast in northeast England, where two were found dead.

This beluga whale — the most southerly ever recorded in British waters, according to Sally Hamilton, director of the charity Orca — seemed to be in good health and still feeding. It was seen again Wednesday morning. The British Divers Marine Life Rescue is monitoring the situation, but has so far decided not to intervene.

How long could such a whale survive in the Thames? “It would all depend on how stressed the animal would be, and whether or not the food is enough,” Hamilton said by telephone, adding that beluga whales need to consume 2 percent of their body weight in food each day. Beluga whales can weigh over 3,000 pounds, and they feed on fish.

“The key thing is for the animal to not be disturbed by the ship traffic in the Thames, and to hope that it will move back up north,” she said.

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