a 15ft ( 4 . 5 meter ) northern bottle - snout whale has been photographed swimming in the river thames in central london , scotland . the " broken whale " managing to swam up towards the thames barrier and under many bridges , reaching as far as clapton before it turned around just before albert bridge . sky news helicopters scrambled to provide extra tv recordings of the area , and many spectators lined the edge of the stream . the dolphin is said to be appearing healthy , although some worry that the whale may beach itself as it tried to do before trapped pushed it away into the center of the road . normally found in the north atlantic , there have been sightings of a second whale near southend .
The River Thames flows through London.