The joint attempt to save a northern bottlenose whale trapped in London's Thames on 21 January could not have been bettered, operation organiser British Divers Marine Life Rescue has said.

BDMLR director Alan Knight praised the teamwork between all the groups involved in the well-publicised operation. "It was excellent to see such a slick and professional rescue with all of the relevant parties working well together," he told Divernet.

BDMLR medics secure the whale in a rescue pontoon. Photo: Mark Stevens The whale is lowered onto an upturned inflatable aboard the transport barge. Photo: Mark Stevens A medic monitors the whale on the journey downstream. Photo: Brett Lewis

"BDMLR would like to thank the Port of London Authority, the Marine Support Unit of the police, the Fire Brigade and the RNLI for giving us everything we wanted."

Two of BDMLR's £2000 whale-rescue pontoon sets were transported speedily into central London from Kent and East Sussex, as the whale swam as far upriver as Chelsea Bridge. "We placed them on the Port of London Authority launch so they could be delivered quickly to the site of the stranding," said Knight. "We had two RIBs in the water and the use of police and RNLI RIBs as well."

More than 100 qualified BDMLR animal-rescue medics were involved. Mark Stevens, the BDMLR director who oversaw operations on the water, told Divernet: "Some were stationed at other points on the Thames with extra equipment. Directly with the animal there were around 30 medics, and this number was cut to sixteen...for the tow to the crane and then eleven for the rest of the job."

Scuba-diving volunteers featured strongly. "Many of the medics are active divers and some of the equipment was diving-club kit," said Stevens. "We needed extra tanks, just in case the pontoon tubes required extra inflation, either through leakage or a need for deflation and reflation."

Paul Jepson, BDMLR's regular rescue operations vet, oversaw the hoisting of the whale aboard the transport barge, and its monitoring and treatment as it was carried down-river, where it sadly expired before reaching open water. Jepson works at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and compiles a database on whale strandings.

The whole operation, including costs to commercial companies such as the crane and barge operators, has been reported at around £100,000. It is not clear whether a body such as Port of London Authority will pick up the bill, or whether operators may have given their services for free. BDMLR's costs are thought to have been in the region of £5000.

The organisation hopes for an increase in donations on the back of the publicity generated by the incident - and it looks as if it's off to a good start. A red plastic watering can, used by one medic to pour water over the whale as it lay in its sling, is being auctioned on eBay until 1 February and, at 23 January, had gained a top bid of $10,000 (about £5600).

It is not clear whether that bidder is looking to exploit the purchase commercially, is simply a private buyer hooked by the can's 'fame', or is a straightforward benefactor using the purchase as the vehicle for a donation.

The result of an autopsy at ZSL's Regent's Park laboratory, to establish whether the whale suffered from any physical ailment, has yet to be announced. It has been confirmed, however, that the whale's remains will go to London's Natural History Museum for research. Its skeleton could go on public display.

Related links
BDMLR website


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