Some-fin in the water: Moment 'shark' is spotted lurking in River Thames
25 July 2024, 13:13
Footage has emerged of the moment a shark was spotted lurking in the River Thames.
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The clip, which was shared on TikTok, showed what appeared to be a shark's fin as it glided through the water on Monday.
Charlotte Webb had been walking near Hammersmith Bridge in west London when she noticed it in the water.
"I had no idea sharks swam in the Thames. I thought it was fake or a bean bag floating along at first," Ms Webb told What's The Jam.
"My best friend Olivia said it was definitely not a shark and joked that it was a crocodile."
Users were quick to compare the appearance to one of Netflix's latest films, Under Paris, which focused on a shark lurking in the River Seine.
"Under Paris really did send everyone a warning," one person commented.
Another person said: "Under London ???"
Read more: 'Cocaine sharks' found in the Atlantic - and 'drug use' may be changing their behaviour
Ms Webb went on to say: "It looked around 5ft which makes it a tope shark according to the comments.
"I absolutely hate sharks so it just confirmed my decision to never go in the sea again.
"We carried on eating our sweet potato fries and thought it would be funny to upload it online."
An assessment by the Zoological Society of London previously found that several different species of shark lived in the Thames, including tope, starry smooth hound and spurdog.
Tope sharks, which are considered critically endangered, can reach 6ft 3 in length but are harmless to humans.
A London Wildlife Trust spokesperson said: "This is an amazing and uncommon sighting of a rare and endangered fish, one of five small shark species that are found in the tidal Thames.
"None of these are a threat to people, and it is unfortunate that many people have become fearful of group of fishes with a very ancient history – they first evolved 450 million years ago – incredibly vital to our marine ecosystems and are now under severe threat from persecution and exploitation across the world.
"London Wildlife Trust supports efforts for their conservation around British waters, for example the magnificent but endangered plankton-eating basking shark (second largest fish in the world) found primarily along our western coasts."
