a 15ft ( 4 . 5 meter ) northern fork - tail seal has been spotted walking in the river thames in central london , uk . the " thames whale " managed to swim up past the thames bank and under many structures , extending as many as chelsea before it stopped in just before albert bridges . tv police helicopters helped to provide live news footage of the whale , and many passengers dotted the banks of the river . the creature is said to be quite healthy , although some fear that the whale should right itself as it tried to do before rescuers forced it back into the bottom of the river . commonly found in the east atlantic , there have been occurrence of a pilot whale near southend .
The River Thames flows through London.