a 15ft ( 4 . 5 foot ) northern seal - snout whale has been spotted running in the river thames in central sussex , uk . the " kent whales " attempted to swim up past the thames barrier and under many places , reaching as far as chelsea before it turned around just before albert bridge . tv news helicopters scrambled to provide live filmed footage of the whale , and numerous spectators lined the walls of the river . the whale is thought to be perfectly healthy , after some fearing that the sea would bruise itself as it hoped to do before rescuers forced it back into the middle of the river . normally found in the north american , there have been sightings of a second whale near london .
The River Thames flows through London.