'Benny the Beluga' facing Christmas in
the Thames far from home
Send a link to a friend
[December 21, 2018]
LONDON (Reuters) - A beluga whale
that was first spotted nearly three months ago in the River Thames is
still feeding healthily east of the British capital and facing a lone
Christmas hundreds of miles from its normal Arctic habitat.
The white cetacean, which feeds on fish, squid and crabs, was first
spotted in September and surfaced near Gravesend, Kent on the southern
side of the estuary.
The last spotting of the whale, dubbed Benny the Beluga by the British
media, was on Dec. 12 east of Gravesend, said a spokesman for the Port
of London Authority which oversees the river.
"The whale pops up, and I am not exaggerating, for literally three to
four seconds and then he disappears for 10 or 15 minutes and he moves in
a wide, dark river, so you see how hard it is to track his precise
location," the spokesman said.
“This whale in its natural environment in the Arctic is a diverse feeder
– so it is not a fussy eater," the spokesman said. "The Thames is much
cleaner now so there are more fish stocks."
The beluga appears to be healthy, he added.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/122118pics/news_k23.jpg)
A Beluga whale swims in the River Thames near Gravesend, east of
London, Britain, September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
![](../images/ads/current/fitzpatrick_lda_SPONSOR_2017.png)
The last sighting of beluga whales in UK waters was in 2015 when
they were spotted off northeastern England near the Northumberland
coastline, but they left shortly afterwards.
Belugas, which can grow up to 5.5 meters (18 feet) long, spend most
of their time off the coasts of Alaska, Canada and Russia, though
they often travel great distances in search of food.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Stephen Addison)
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |