A humpback whale spotted in the River Thames died due to injuries from being struck by a ship, experts have revealed.
Researchers believe the whale, nicknamed ‘Hessy,’ was hit by a vessel in the sea before she was spotted swimming in the river earlier this week.
Londoners flocked to behold the rare sight of the 27-foot-long juvenile female spotted in the Thames waters near Greenhithe, Kent, earlier this week.
Sightings of the enormous whale sparked worldwide attention before she was found dead on Tuesday evening.
She is only the third humpback recorded in Thames and wider Thames Estuary.
(Image: Daily Star)
(Image: PA)
(Image: PA)
It took three boats four hours to haul Hessy’s carcass a six-mile distance from below the QE2 Bridge to a Port of London Authority facility at Gravesend for analysis after she perished.
Dramatic pictures showed the whale’s enormous carcass being hauled by cranes as her remains were prepared for post mortem.
The examination revealed she suffered catastrophic injuries to her jaw and that a ship strike – which is thought to have happened in open sea rather than in the river – was the main cause of death.
Rob Deaville, project manager of the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programe said the post mortem also revealed the animal had not eaten for some time and was “nutritionally compromised”.
(Image: Daily Star)
(Image: Daily Star)
But no signs of any ingested plastics were found.
He said: “ZSL’s examination revealed that it was an 8.37 metre-long juvenile female, had no evidence of recent feeding and was nutritionally compromised.
“The whale also had a heavy burden of parasites within the intestine, and no evidence of plastic ingestion was found.
“There was also evidence of historical entanglement or other interactions with human activity, with linear scars on the dorsal fin (located on the back of the animal) and tail flukes.
“The main finding was a large wound on the underside of the head, associated with a fracture along the length of one of the mandibles (lower jaw).
(Image: Daily Star)
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“Traces of blood clots around the fractured jaw and haemorrhage around the cut/torn surfaces indicate that the damage occurred before death and it was the team’s opinion that the injuries were most likely a result of ship strike and this is considered to be the primary cause of death.
“It’s certainly possible that the whale was struck outside of the Thames and already had these injuries whilst it was seen swimming within the river at the beginning of the week – further test of tissues taken during the examination are ongoing and may shed further light on the likely timescale around the injuries.”
She was the fifth humpback whale to be recorded stranded in the UK so far this year by authorities, and the third to be recorded in the Thames and wider Thames estuary region.
The other two both also died, in 2009 and 2013.
