Want to see some seals? Head to Canary Wharf | Philip Hoare
If marine mammals are the canaries of the sea - offering advance warning signs of the healthy state, or otherwise, of our waters - then the new report from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) on the extraordinary numbers of seals, porpoises, dolphins and even whales appearing in the Thames must be good news.
The ZSL survey, conducted over 10 years, records an astonishing 2,732 sightings in the river and its estuary (although it cannot say how many of these were repeat visits by individual animals). Many were seals - easier to spot since they hang about at the surface. But 444 porpoises and dolphins were also seen, and a truly remarkable 49 whales, including minke whales, larger than any elephant, and more commonly seen from whalewatch boats in places such as Scotland and Cape Cod.
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