# Whale spotted in central London! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 20, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823 "2006-01-20T15:12:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/21 "2006-01-20T17:38:34Z")
Won’t someone _please_ think of the children?!?! Now that that’s out of the way, how’s the whale doing? Any updates? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/22 "2006-01-20T17:52:09Z")
And here I thought this was going to be about Britney being sighted shopping at Harrod’s for the new kid… ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/23 "2006-01-20T18:12:40Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > … and other reports are talking about a pod. A **pod**? Oh, God, no! First a whale in the Thames, and the pods are decending! The end of days is surely upon us! Humanity’s reign on earth is at an end! ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/24 "2006-01-20T18:19:44Z")
There coming for us. In the UK, a bottlenose whale has been spotted swimming up the Thames through London. London, an extremely important financial and political capital. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10940878/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10940878/) In the US, two rare right whales have been spotted in Corpus Christi Bay, hundreds of miles from their winter range off the coast of Georgia. [http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-01-18T191847Z\_01\_N18203664\_RTRIDST\_0\_OUKOE-UK-ENVIRONMENT-WHALES.XML](http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-01-18T191847Z_01_N18203664_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-UK-ENVIRONMENT-WHALES.XML) Corpus Christi. A vital commercial port, particularly concerning oil and gasoline. The only possible explanation - scouting parties. The whales are PREPARING THEIR ATTACK!!! Sua ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/25 "2006-01-20T18:36:46Z")
[Thar she blows!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=355005) (Previous thread on the port side, Captain!) ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/26 "2006-01-20T18:45:24Z")
> [@SkipMagic](#): > > [Thar she blows!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=355005) > > (Previous thread on the port side, Captain!) Actually, **SuaSponte** , I decided to merge the two threads instead of just closing yours. I didn’t want the mention of the Corpus Christi whales to be beached by the closed thread. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/27 "2006-01-20T18:46:30Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > Won’t someone _please_ think of the children?!?! > > Now that that’s out of the way, how’s the whale doing? Any updates? This is the most recent [article](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4632808.stm) I could find. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/28 "2006-01-20T18:55:38Z")
I was just about to ask a mod to do that, **SkipMagic**. Thanks. Sua ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/29 "2006-01-20T19:12:46Z")
Ya know, when a human does something stupid and dies, we all say it’s natures way to improve the gene pool. (Darwin Awards, anyone?) Perhaps the gene pool of this species of whale will be be improved by this obviously dolt-headed specimen offing himself in the Thames. Just to be a Devil’s advocate, eh? ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/30 "2006-01-20T19:48:44Z")
Darwin or not–tide’s on the way out in London–whale is basically a goner at this point… Where’s Willy? Or somebody? Somebody British–DO something, OK? fighting the urge to go read Melville… ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/31 "2006-01-20T20:11:00Z")
Looks like they might try a rescue attempt. [http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=100982006](http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=100982006) It’s dark there now (2pm, Chicago time). Poor whale. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/32 "2006-01-20T22:29:28Z")
> [@Girl Next Door](#): > > OK, I have a dumb question: > > Is the Thames comprised of salt-water? Is there such thing as a salt-water river? Or did this whale swim from a salt-water environment into a fresh water one. > > If THAT is the case…salt-water to fresh…how do they survive? > > Any ichthyologists in the house? As whales aren’t fish, an ichthyologist wouldn’t be much help to you. A cetologist is what you want. I don’t think it makes a difference to whales: belugas and other whales have a habit of coming up the Saint Lawrence, sometimes as far as Montreal. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/33 "2006-01-20T22:45:34Z")
> [@Girl Next Door](#): > > OK, I have a dumb question: > > Is the Thames comprised of salt-water? Is there such thing as a salt-water river? No, not a dumb question. And yes, it’s salt water, and tidal - heard a news report on this earlier today which said big tides at Westminster cause around 8 metre rises in the river level. That’s a _lot_ of water coming in and out from the estuary! ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_Next\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@Girl\_Next\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_Next_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/34 "2006-01-20T23:22:29Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > As whales aren’t fish, an ichthyologist wouldn’t be much help to you. A cetologist is what you want. > > I don’t think it makes a difference to whales: belugas and other whales have a habit of coming up the Saint Lawrence, sometimes as far as Montreal. I _knew_ someone was gonna bust me on that! :smack: But I couldn’t remember the word for whale-scientists and I figured a fish-scientist would probably know the answer. It’s mainly of interest to me because we’ve been learning about osmosis in massage school, and the example that finally helped it sink in for me was fresh water fishy in salt water (dries up) and salt-water fishy in fresh water (slowly explodes). So, I wonder why some fishies (like salmon) and mammals (like whales) can handle the shift. Larger size? Thicker skin? Vaseline? ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/35 "2006-01-21T00:27:50Z")
> [@Girl Next Door](#): > > OK, I have a dumb question: > > Is the Thames comprised of salt-water? Is there such thing as a salt-water river? Or did this whale swim from a salt-water environment into a fresh water one. > > If THAT is the case…salt-water to fresh…how do they survive? > > Any ichthyologists in the house? IANAI (ooh, palindrome!), but I am a whale watch naturalist and marine ecologist. There are no marine mammals that are dependent on salt water. All whales, dolphins, porpoises, etc. can survive just fine in fresh water (assuming they can find enough food and avoid navigational hazards like tidally-exposed mudflats.) Here in SF Bay we get Grey Whales coming into the estuary very frequently, and we infrequently get Humpbacks, who often need rescuing. ([Humphrey](http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/learning/education/whales/humpback.asp) was a particularly famous case - scroll to the bottom.) The Marine Mammal Center has rescued a Sea Lion from as far inland as Los Baños (65 miles inland) and a Harbor Seal from Lake Tahoe (well, actually that one was illegally picked up by humans and transported up into the Sierras.) This guy/gal looks a lot more manuverable than a Humpback. Just watch out, you let one whale move in, soon it invites its friends over, then they start spending the night - pretty soon you can just kiss the neighborhood goodbye… ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/36 "2006-01-21T00:40:48Z")
> [@Girl Next Door](#): > > It’s mainly of interest to me because we’ve been learning about osmosis in massage school, and the example that finally helped it sink in for me was fresh water fishy in salt water (dries up) and salt-water fishy in fresh water (slowly explodes). > > So, I wonder why some fishies (like salmon) and mammals (like whales) can handle the shift. Larger size? Thicker skin? Vaseline? Just like human skin, whale skin is pretty much waterproof and does not allow free exchange of ions or water molecules from dermis to the epidermal surface (in fact, probably much more so than human skin - these suckers have huge skin! - Yeah, I know that should be thick, but oh well.) Osmosis only works if the membrane is permeable, which mammalian skin is generally not. Human skin is imperfectly waterproof, but no so much so that you would kill yourself by swimming in the ocean. 😉 Salmon are a completely different situation - they essentially rebuild their osmoregulatory physiology and kidneys during development from parr to smolt and again in the move from salt back to freshwater. They generally stop for some time in brackish water to acclimate themselves to taking in less salty water. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_Next\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@Girl\_Next\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_Next_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/37 "2006-01-21T01:32:18Z")
> [@wevets](#): > > Just like human skin, whale skin is pretty much waterproof and does not allow free exchange of ions or water molecules from dermis to the epidermal surface (in fact, probably much more so than human skin - these suckers have huge skin! - Yeah, I know that should be thick, but oh well.) Osmosis only works if the membrane is permeable, which mammalian skin is generally not. Human skin is imperfectly waterproof, but no so much so that you would kill yourself by swimming in the ocean. 😉 > > Salmon are a completely different situation - they essentially rebuild their osmoregulatory physiology and kidneys during development from parr to smolt and again in the move from salt back to freshwater. They generally stop for some time in brackish water to acclimate themselves to taking in less salty water. Very cool! Thanks, **wevets**. So, what’s the latest on our cetaceous friend in London? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/38 "2006-01-21T01:33:45Z")
Is it [trapped?](http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17889300-2,00.html) Is a rescue being mounted? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/39 "2006-01-21T04:02:14Z")
I hope he/she survives. It must be a male. It didn’t ask for directions. Have they named it yet? Until further news, I offer another whale of a [story](http://manningworldnews.com/archives/000575.php) ---
**Author:** ![everyone\_loves\_monkeys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9e5f3/32.png) [@everyone\_loves\_monkeys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everyone_loves_monkeys)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823/40 "2006-01-21T08:47:08Z")
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4633878.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4633878.stm) “Mr Woodley said it was upstream of Vauxhall Bridge, close to Dolphin Square in Pimlico” does this tell us something? (Sorry i don’t know how to do that indent thing) isn’t terry Nutkin from ‘_the really wild show_’? (if that’s still on). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whale-spotted-in-central-london/340823.md?page=3)