A pod of 25 whales which found themselves in the Thames have been herded past the Kent coast today.
The long-finned pilot whales were first seen in London on Thursday, raising concern for the groups’ safety in shallow waters.
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) has been encouraging the animals back out to sea through the Thames Estuary, and have reached an area off the coast of Whitstable.
Sadly, one whales has died and another is showing signs of being unwell.
BDMLR volunteers in boats steered the pod to the Red Sand Towers in an operation which started in Gravesend at 7am this morning.
The towers are about six miles off the coast of Whitstable.
A BDMLR spokesperson said: “After a six-hour journey covering more than 20 nautical miles, the pod had reached the outer limits of the Thames Estuary, near Red Sand Towers, and were travelling towards the North Sea with ongoing monitoring assistance from Civil Air Support.
“Sadly, one of the whales has shown signs of illness and became separated from the main pod.
“The team from the PLA and BDMLR are currently with that whale and seeing if they can help it towards the deeper waters of the Sea.”
The presence of pilot whales in the Thames is highly unusual, the charity reports.
The group of whales being herded near Whitstable today. Picture: Port of London Authority; Jez Stone, BDMLROne of the long-finned pilot whales which have been herded towards Whitstable today. Picture: Port of London Authority; Jez Stone, BDMLR
Long-finned pilot whales typically favour cooler temperate waters offshore beyond the continental shelf in the Atlantic ocean.
They form exceptionally close family bonds and several pods may come together temporarily, creating vast ‘super-pods’ numbering in the hundreds often seen in countries such as New Zealand.