Museum wants Thames whale

2006-01-23 19:12

London - The bones of the whale which swam up the River Thames into central London but died during a weekend rescue attempt could be donated to Britain's Natural History Museum, officials said on Monday.

"We are hoping to have them," said a spokesperson for the west London museum.

"Once the post-mortem is carried out we are usually asked if we want to take the specimen.

"We are trying to work out whether we can take them or not."

The final resting place of the northern bottle-nosed whale has been the source of media speculation since it had convulsions and died on Saturday evening during an attempt to take it back towards the North Sea.

British tabloid The Sun launched an appeal in which it hoped to raise £10 000 to preserve the skeleton of the whale - which it named Wally - for "crucial scientific research".

"We also want to provide a lasting tribute to the whale that captivated the world by swimming up the Thames into central London," the newspaper added.

Monarch

Under a salvage law of 1324, the whale's body belongs to the reigning British monarch.

The United Kingdom Whale and Dolphin Stranding Scheme also stipulates that any remains are offered to the Natural History Museum.

But charity the British Divers Marine Life Rescue Association (BDMLR), which was in charge of trying to save the animal, suggested it might go to a landfill site or be incinerated because of fears over disease.

A final decision is expected after post-mortem results are released on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, claims have mounted that sonar from British Royal Navy vessels could have disorientated the animal, confusing it in to swimming so far from the deep waters of the North Sea and up the shallower Thames.

The ministry of defence (MoD) described the claims as "speculative" and defended the use of sonar as a "vital defence capability".

Interest in the whale, the first to be spotted in the Thames since records began in 1913, has shown no sign of abating.

eBay

A red watering can used by the BDMLR as they tried to save the whale has been put up for sale on internet auction site eBay to raise funds for future rescues.

It later emerged that BDMLR volunteers faced further disappointment after returning from the unsuccessful rescue: their vehicles had received parking tickets of about £300.

Westminster city council said later it would waive the fines.

- AFP