Thurrock Council would like to thank the British Divers Marine Life Rescue volunteers and the Port of London Authority, whose combined efforts meant that nearly all of a pod of around 25 pilot whales that swam into the Thames near Tilbury made it safely back out to sea.
Both organisations worked together to ‘herd’ the pod of whales back out to their natural habitat after they swam into the Thames Estuary, putting themselves in real danger of becoming stranded on the shore.
Thanks to their skill, dedication and tireless efforts, nearly all the whales made it safely out of the predicament they found themselves in, with just two of the whales sadly dying after becoming stranded on the shore.
Cllr Bailey Scott, Tilbury St Chads ward councillor, said: “The sight of all those pilot whales in the Thames by Tilbury was an extraordinary one, but also an extremely worrying one for local communities.
“These beautiful creatures found themselves in a very precarious situation where they were at terrible risk of being hurt or killed.
“Thankfully, the incredible skill and dedication of British Divers Marine Life Rescue and the Port of London Authority meant that nearly the entire pod was herded back out to sea.
“Although it is terribly sad that two of the whales lost their lives, were it not for the efforts of these organisations, it is highly likely that many more whales, possibly even the entire pod, could have perished on our shores.
“On behalf of the local community, I would like to thank these organisations and recognise the tremendous work they did over the weekend to save these pilot whales.”
Cllr Richard Bingley, Leader of Thurrock Council, echoed Cllr Scott’s words. He said: “The dedication of these two organisations, who spent many long hours over the weekend safely shepherding these magnificent animals over 20 miles out of the danger of the narrow estuary and into the safety of the open sea, was remarkable.
“As wondrous as the sight of a pod of whales might be, the truly inspiring thing about this is the skill and dedication of all who helped to save them.”
