Did You Know That There Are Seahorses Living In The Thames?

Laura Reynolds
By Laura Reynolds Last edited 76 months ago

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Did You Know That There Are Seahorses Living In The Thames?
Photo: Anna Cucknell/ZSL

A dolphin or porpoise has been spotted in the Thames recently, but did you know that there are also seahorses living in London's main waterway?

Six individual seahorse sightings have been reported in the last two months, according to wildlife conservation charity Zoological Society of London (which also runs London Zoo). This compares to an annual average of just one or two sightings a year.

It's not yet known what might have caused this surge in sightings, the most recent of which was a short-snouted seahorse spotted in Greenwich.

Photo: Anna Cucknell/ZSL

Anna Cucknell, Estuaries & Wetlands Conservation Manager for ZSL, said:

We’re really excited to be finding more and more evidence suggesting seahorses are resident in the Thames. The limited research work to date suggests that two species in particular now call London’s estuary home: the short-snouted seahorse and the spiny seahorse.

The fact both species typically have small home ranges and don’t tend to travel far gives reason to believe that the seahorses we’ve found recently are permanent residents rather than occasional visitors.

ZSL also runs an annual marine mammal report in the Thames, monitoring the presence of animals such as seals and porpoises. Here's what happened when we joined them in 2015.

See also: What lives in the Thames?

Last Updated 08 November 2017