Historical report River Thames near The O2 / Greenwich, London, England, UK

Unknown Sea Creature Spotted in River Thames

If I said I want to show you a picture of a dark coloured unknown sea creature with humps rising above the water’s surface, you’d probably think I was talking…

By Monstrum AthenaeumFirst published Updated 2 min read
The River Thames beside the O2 dome at Greenwich under overcast April light, the Emirates cable-car line arcing overhead, and mid-river a dark elongated shape with two low humps breaking the grey water, leaving a spreading wake, small crowds implied on the far bank.

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If I said I want to show you a picture of a dark coloured unknown sea creature with humps rising above the water’s surface, you’d probably think I was talking about the Loch Ness Monster. But the latest images of a “sea monster” come from somewhere far more populated – the River Thames in the centre of London.

Pictures first appeared in April of a black shape moving in the waters of the river close to the Millennium Dome. A tourist uploaded the footage on his mobile phone from a cable car in Greenwich. The creature quickly submerged back into the water; it’s wake clearly visible.

A week later, an 18-second video, taken much closer to the river, surfaced of a similar creature. The video captured a dark shape moving down the river against the current also creating a pronounce wake.

Immediately, a theory was proposed that the two videos showed some kind of strange submarine operating in the Thames. Sceptics, as you might have guessed, dismissed the videos as an April Fool’s Day joke. Others suggested the creature was a perhaps a large, common animal, such as a whale. They might not be too far off. There are famous incidents of strange creatures floating around the murky waters of the Thames including a bottle-nosed whale that somehow ended up swimming around London for several days back in 2006.

Second video in a week appears to show mysterious creature swimming in the Thames Watch at source

Original publication credit

Original title: Unknown Sea Creature Spotted in River Thames. The preserved copy has no named writer credit. Originally published April 25, 2016.

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