Whale Spotted On Thames

FINE, it's not real, but the fake WWF whale is causing an equally strong reaction.

The enormous whale is part of the WWF The Last 130 campaign, which hopes to spread the word about the critically-endangered western gray whale.

There is now thought to be fewer than 130 western grays left in the world, with less than 26 breeding females. Every year, the whales come to feed off the coast of Sakhalin Island, Russia, but now a new (the third) oil platform threatens the survival of this critically endangered whale.

Whale of a time

Gray whales are the only large whales that feed from the sea bottom, churning up the sea bed and filtering the disturbed invertebrates through their baleen plates. The shallow waters close to the Sakhalin Island are the only waters that are suitable for mothers to teach their calves how to feed in this way.

The Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel – a group of eleven independent scientists focused on considering how to reduce the impacts of oil and gas operations on the whales – will meet with lenders and Sakhalin Energy on 12 – 14 February.