Beluga Benny won’t budge from Thames

BENNY the beluga appears to be in no hurry to return to sea and could remain in the Thames for months, experts warned yesterday.

The three-metre Arctic mammal has barely strayed from a two-mile stretch of water off Gravesend in Kent since it was first spotted last Tuesday.

It spent a sixth day hunting fish and crustaceans yesterday, delighting families who turned up in their droves to catch sight of its sleek white form with its distinctive, bulbous head.

The Port of London Authority (PLA) has banned vessels from travelling within 100 metres of Benny, who is being monitored for signs of distress. But officials admit these measures are not sustainable should Benny remain in the Thames for months.

Martin Garside, of the PLA, said there were discussions about rescuing the beluga should it become distressed.

But he said a mission to take it to sea was unlikely and logistically difficult, adding: ‘He’s been in more or less the same spot for six days, which is a relief.

‘But we have long-term worries in the event he doesn’t head out to sea. We just hope he swims out on the next ebb tide.

‘This is the optimistic scenario, that he moves on soon. But we’ve had a dozen ebb tides since he turned up and he hasn’t taken the hint.

‘Things will become quite precarious if there is any indication he is struggling to feed, or if he becomes ill or injured. He’s lost and needs to go home, but he appears to be adapting to the Thames easily.’

Conservationists had hoped Benny, whose gender is not known, would drift out to the North Sea towards its natural habitat, 2,000 miles away.

Experts are relieved that Benny has not moved upstream towards central London, but admit they have ‘long-term worries’ that the whale may refuse to budge.

Danny Groves, of the group Whale and Dolphin Conservation, said: ‘It’s a busy area for traffic and there’s a fair amount of pollution which he could ingest.’