Baby minke whale stuck in River Thames is euthanised ‘to end its suffering’ after getting stranded twice

A baby minke whale stranded in the River Thames had to be euthanised despite desperate efforts to save the creature.

A baby minke whale that got stuck in the River Thames twice has been euthanised “to end its suffering”.

The infant mammal became trapped in Richmond Lock in South West London about 7.30pm Sunday night (local time) – and was moved on Monday with hopes of releasing it back into the sea.

A juvenile minke whale swims by Teddington Lock in southwest London after it swam up the River Thames on May 10, 2021. Picture: Glyn Kirk/AFP

The whale was euthanised after it became trapped in Richmond Lock. Picture: Glyn Kirk/AFP

But due to its “deteriorating condition”, the decision was made to put the animal to sleep, Julia Cable, national co-ordinator at the British Divers Marine Life Rescue service, said.

“The last 45 minutes we were with the whale its condition was deteriorating, its breathing wasn’t right and it wouldn’t have survived much longer,” Ms Cable said.

“The vets said it was clearly suffering and that it was the right decision.”

Ms Cable said vets from London Zoo injected a “large” anaesthetic dose about 6.30pm.

She added: “It’s always sad, but we now know that putting it back out into the open sea would have been sending it to starve out there.”

Ms Cable said the whale had been either still “maternally dependent” or recently weaned, based on its size.

“It will be socially dependent, so to be on its own something has happened,” she said. “It has been separated from either its mother or a group.

“It’s in a nutritionally poor state, it’s also got injuries from stranding.

“We know it was stranded for five or seven hours yesterday, so all the time that happens the organs can get damaged as well.”

Crowds gathered when the whale appeared in the water at Teddington in southwest London after it swam up the River Thames. Picture: Glyn Kirk/AFP

Crowds gathered at Teddington Lock on Monday to catch a glimpse of the whale, a minke between 3m and 4m long.

It came after hundreds of people gathered at Richmond Lock and Weir on Sunday after the animal became stuck on the lock’s boat rollers.

Videos showed it being hosed down by a man believed to be from the Port of London Authority (PLA), while a vet performed a check-up at the river’s edge, before the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) arrived at the scene to the cheers of onlookers at about 9pm.

Fire crews were also at the scene, along with the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR).

The whale was found to be in poor health and was put on pontoons to make it more comfortable on Sunday night as it was decided then that it should be put to sleep.

But it managed to get free and back into the river.

Ms Cable earlier said the animal is “as good as stranded”, adding: “It’s not really going to come down to a rescue now.

“Its condition is deteriorating. It’s not acting the way it did last night.

“It’s basically lost any energy that it had left in it.

“It’s also got another stranding injury which along with ones from yesterday all adds up really.

The whale had been injured while trapped in the River Thames. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

“It’s not looking like we’ll be able to refloat the animal.”

Dan Jarvis, welfare development and field support officer at the British Divers Marine Life Rescue service, said the veterinarian will carry out a health assessment on the whale.

He said: “From the assessment that we gave last night we already know the animal’s in poor nutritional condition which doesn’t have a good prognosis, so in all likelihood the animal would be put to sleep to prevent further suffering in this case.”

Mr Jarvis said the rescuers work in conjunction with the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) which carries out post-mortem examinations.

He said they are likely to need help from the Port of London Authority to make arrangements for the removal of the whale.

Eyewitnesses reported that it was “swimming freely’’ this afternoon and Port of London authority officials and members of the local RNLI were also attending to keep an eye on the whale.

Matt Allchurch, Teddington RNLI, operations manager told The Sun: “We have crews at the scene who are monitoring the situation.

Rescuers did all they could to save the young animal but it had been injured in the standings. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

The minke whale sadly could not be saved. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

“There is nothing much we can do really other than to keep an eye on it, to a certain extent it has run out of road as it’s where the tidal Thames meets the River Thames.

“It will have plenty of water but to be honest it has headed in the wrong direction, it’s going westwards when it really needs to be going east and out towards the sea.”

It’s thought the whale is underweight and may have some injuries on its pectoral fins, according to Sky News.

The whale, usually found in deep waters, was checked over by experts who sprayed it with water.

It comes after a 100-strong crowd gathered near the lock last night after spotting the whale stuck in the lock.

Jake Manketo, 20, from Richmond, said: “Everyone here is just hoping they get it out.

“We couldn’t believe our eyes when we first saw the poor fella, not every day something like this happens in Richmond.”

It is believed the whale was first spotted at midday a few miles up the river near Barnes Bridge.

Minke whales are the smallest of the great whales, growing to about 10m.

They can usually be found throughout the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Their range extends from the ice edge in the Arctic during the summer to near the equator during winter.

The lock is situated between Teddington and Richmond, comprising of three vertical steel gates suspended from a footbridge.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission