A bottlenose whale has travelled up the River Thames into central London.
The bottlenose whale is usually seen in the deep waters of the north Atlantic. This whale, measuring between 15 and 20 feet long, has swum about a mile upstream from the Houses of Parliament.
This was the first sighting this far up the Thames since records began almost a hundred years ago.
Divers and rescue boats tried to protect the whale from beaching itself along the banks of the river and to coax it back into the sea.
Marine experts believe the animal may be sick or has become disoriented. Richard Sabin from the Natural History Museum explains that the whale needs salt water to survive as fresh water does not contain the same nutrients and will make it progressively weaker.
There was a second sighting of another bottlenose whale off the south east coast of England.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 20 January 2006. The reporter is Brian O'Connell.
