a 15ft ( 4 . 5 meter ) northern bottle - nosed whale has been spotted swimmer in the river estuary in central london , uk . the " big whale " managed to swim up past the great barrier and under many bridges , reach as far as southampton before it turned left just before albert bridge . tv police helicopters scrambled to present broadcast tv footage of the event , and numerous fans lined the sides of the river . the animal is said to be looking well , and some fear that the whale may beach itself as it trying to do before rescue forced it back into the bank of the delta . normally heard in the north atlantic , there have been sightings of a killer version near southend .
The River Thames flows through London.