London's Biggest Tourist to be Boned

By sizemore Last edited 218 months ago
London's Biggest Tourist to be Boned
thames_bones.gif

The Thames Whale looks set to be staying in London after all with the Natural History Museum thought to be the most fitting great hereafter for the 19.2ft female northern bottle-nose. The doomed leviathan's corpse has been targeted by the Sun newspaper who have launched an appeal to keep the bones in London. An autopsy carried out on the whale yesterday revealed that she had died of multiple causes including dehydration, muscle damage and failing kidneys. Veterinary pathologist Dr Paul Jepson who carried out the post mortem was with the whale when she died:

"While I was drawing the lethal injection, she died," he said. "The last few days have been an unforgettable and ultimately sad experience for us all, and we are now determined that the whale did not die in vain. The incident has demonstrated a clear message of the nation's passion for these animals and their conservation."

Would be whale rescuers faced stiff parking charges after failing to jump back out of the Thames to pop more coins in the meters, but Westminster Council in an out of character act of generousity has agreed to waive the fines.

Elsewhere in Europe another whale has been making headlines after Greenpeace dropped a dead whale weighing some 20 tonnes outside the Japanese embassy in Berlin as an anti-whaling protest. Coals to Newcastle or indeed a liver and fava beans Chianti happy meal to Dr Lecter springs to mind.

Last Updated 26 January 2006