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Whale beached in shipping river Suffering whale is to be put down
(about 1 hour later)
A whale stranded in a Suffolk river used by large ferries has beached itself despite specialists trying to coax it back to the North sea. A 15ft whale stranded in a river near a busy ferry port is to be killed to prevent it suffering.
The whale, thought to be a northern bottleneck, was reported to be on sand under the Orwell Bridge, near Ipswich. The juvenile whale, trapped in shallow water in the River Orwell near Ipswich, Suffolk, had become "compromised" and would not survive, experts said.
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) group was monitoring the animal but feared the whale would now die. British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) group officials said they intended to kill the whale on Saturday.
Trevor Weeks, the group's national co-ordinator, said: "I fear there is not going to be a happy outcome." The whale was seen in the afternoon and had become beached under the Orwell Bridge a few hours later.
Teams went into the water to monitor the behaviour of the whale. "We are worried about the condition of the animal. We believe the animal is in a compromised condition," said Trevor Weeks, the BDMLR's national coordinator.
Many incidents "The breath rate is not great. Its movement and actions appear to be lethargic.
Mr Weeks said: "We have not yet confirmed the identity of the species, but we believe it to be a northern bottleneck whale. "We are looking at doing something as early as we can tomorrow. Our main concern is that we don't want the animal to suffer."
"It is in the river Orwell just outside Ipswich but is moving around quite a lot. It is low tide, but it is not stranded. Starvation fear
"We will stay throughout the evening but I suspect it will be too dangerous for us to stay with it during darkness." Crowds gathered on the banks of the river as divers in boats tried to coax the whale back to the North Sea.
Mr Weeks said the whale was the latest in a series to arrive on the east coast over the past 18 months.Mr Weeks said the whale was the latest in a series to arrive on the east coast over the past 18 months.
He said in 2006, one had appeared in the Thames, two at Skegness, Lincolnshire, one in The Wash off north Norfolk and one in the river Humber near Hull, East Yorkshire. He said whales had appeared in the Thames, at Skegness, Lincolnshire, in The Wash off north Norfolk and the river Humber near Hull, East Yorkshire. None had survived.
But all the whales had died, he said. Mr Weeks suspected that the whale begun its journey off the Norwegian coast and found itself in the North Sea by mistake.
Mr Weeks suspected that the whale seen in the river Orwell had begun its journey off the Norwegian coast and found itself in the North Sea by mistake. The whale would almost-certainly die of starvation or dehydration if not put down, he said.
The whale would probably die of starvation or dehydration, Mr Weeks added.
Divers are continuing to monitor its progress.