Rescuers race to save lost whale

Rescue teams are working out how to save a whale which has been stranded in the River Thames since at least Friday. This is extremely rare in British waters as they are normally found in deep waters in the North Atlantic. The whale was first spotted at 0830 GMT on Friday by a man on a train and has since attracted massive public and media attention with thousands of people flocking to the river to see it. It soon became clear there was cause for concern, as the animal came within yards of the banks, almost beaching, and crashed into an empty boat, causing itself slight bleeding. The exhausted and disoriented whale was seen struggling against the river's strong currents.

The novelty of a whale in the Thames has now given way to concern that it should not be there. Crowds were again expected to flock to the riverbank to catch a glimpse, prompting appeals for sight-seeing boats to keep well clear. Paul Jepson, vet with the Zoological Society of London, was said to have seen the whale from a boat and expressed concern about injuries on its head and tail, and the disorientated manner in which it was swimming.

"We need it to beach - that sounds really harsh but we can't put people into the water to grab this animal. It's way too strong for us, people would get hurt," he said. If that happened then rescuers would use inflatable booms, a harness and an giant floating crane to rescue the whale and have it assessed by a specialist vet. But there's little else they can do.

There were reports of a pod of whales in the Thames estuary earlier in the week, and it was possible that the whale had become separated from this group. It is the first sighting of the endangered species in the river since records began nearly a century ago.

23.01.06. A rescue operation was launched to try to save it but ended in tragedy on Saturday night when the whale died after being lifted onto a barge trying to take it back out to sea. Marine biologists from the ZSL carried out a post-mortem on the seven-ton female whale in a secluded riverfront yard in Gravesend, Kent, on Sunday. They took blubber samples and examined damage to the 15ft northern whale's skin. They also studied the echo response areas of the brain which could reveal if they were damaged, causing the animal to become distracted. Preliminary result are due on Wednesday. When the tests are complete the whale's body will be released for disposal.

THE INDEPENDENT, 2.02.06.

Colombia smugglers "used puppies'

A Colombian drugs network has been trying to smuggle heroin into the US by surgically implanting it into pedigree puppies, US drugs agents have said. In one case, 14 packets of liquid heroin were found sewn into the bellies of six Labrador puppies by a vet. The network also allegedly used human couriers, who either swallowed or hid the drugs in a variety of containers. The Colombian authorities, working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), have arrested 22 people.

The gang's alleged activities were revealed when local and US agents who raided a farm in Colombia found 10 puppies, six with scars on their bellies, the DEA said. Ultrasound scans revealed the packets, weighing about 3kg and worth some $200,000 , inside those dogs. Three of the puppies died as a result of infection after the drugs were removed but three survived and are said to be "alive and well". John Gilbride, head of the DEA's New York office, said it remained unclear how many dogs may have been used by the gang. "I think it's outrageous and heinous that they'd use small, innocent puppies in this way," he said. "It just demonstrates what lengths drugs dealers will go to get drugs into the country."

The network, based in the Colombian city of Medellin, allegedly used puppies and other methods to transport drugs on commercial flights into New York and across the eastern US. Heroin was also found in moisturising creams, aerosol cans, pressed into bead shapes and stitched into the lining of purses and luggage, US agents said. The DEA, which backed the two-year investigation by the Colombian authorities, hopes to extradite some of the suspects to face charges in the US. Colombia is the main supplier of heroin to the US.

THE DAILY NEWS, 9.03.06.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 864