May 12, 200620 yr porpoise has been sighted in the Manchester Ship Canal, more than 32km (20 miles) inland. The 1.5m (5ft) long Harbour Porpoise was first seen on Thursday morning in the water and is currently being monitored by marine experts. A spokesman for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue team said it was unusual for a porpoise to travel so far upstream, but it appeared healthy. It was spotted close to Latchford Lock in Warrington, Cheshire. The spokesman said: "When last sighted, the cetacean was around 21 miles inland, close to Latchford Lock in Warrington. Fish supply "We are keeping an eye on the situation because there is always a danger it could get trapped in the lock gates or stranded, but so far it seems to be doing fine." The canal is about 60m (197ft) wide and some 9.1m (29.8ft) deep and there is a good supply of fish. The spokesman added there were currently no plans to remove the animal but that would change if it began to get into difficulties. The porpoise, similar to a dolphin, normally lives in seawater but can survive in freshwater for several weeks without suffering ill-effects. The Manchester Ship Canal is 56km (34.8 miles) long and runs from Eastham on Merseyside to Salford in Greater Manchester. Wildlife spotted In 2003, the ship canal was cited as one of the fastest-improving waterways in the UK. The Mersey Basin Campaign, a group set up 20 years ago to clean up the Mersey basin and its tributaries, said the porpoise was proof the North West's waterways had turned the corner. Chief executive Walter Menzies said it was the latest in a string of wildlife to be spotted in the area. "There have been otters, salmon - even an octopus - in the Mersey Estuary," said Mr Menzies. "Hard work and ingenuity have started to pay off and a cleaner, healthier system of rivers and canals is emerging for the people and wildlife of the region." http://www.bbc.co.uk
May 12, 200620 yr Quite nice actually!!! :P Well good enough for a porpoise, obviously!! Been swimming in it, then??:thinking:
May 12, 200620 yr Author Well good enough for a porpoise, obviously!! Been swimming in it, then??:thinking: noooooooo! if I was going to do that, I'd hop along the road a bit to Salford Quays and go for a swim in the sealed off, clean, oxygenated bit. Maybe that's where the porpoise is headed?
May 12, 200620 yr noooooooo! if I was going to do that, I'd hop along the road a bit to Salford Quays and go for a swim in the sealed off, clean, oxygenated bit. Maybe that's where the porpoise is headed? Isn't that where they stage the triathlon??
May 12, 200620 yr Author Isn't that where they stage the triathlon?? yup!! they sealed off a couple of the bigger quays and they have a watersports centre down there.
May 12, 200620 yr Author Looks impressive on TV not been over that way in a while. used to go for walks around there with my Dad and Grandpa before they'd finished developing it all. the whole Quays area is fab where they've refurbished. there's a lot of canal type waterways connecting the different Quays which now have trees, houses and flats along the edges. it would be nice to live there, maybe.
May 12, 200620 yr Author of course the down side of the Quays is that the view is spoiled by the Theatre of Sheep on the other side of the Ship Canal!
May 12, 200620 yr Do you think it did it on porpoise??:wink3: :laugh3: that's one of your better ones :P
May 12, 200620 yr not been over that way in a while. used to go for walks around there with my Dad and Grandpa before they'd finished developing it all. the whole Quays area is fab where they've refurbished. there's a lot of canal type waterways connecting the different Quays which now have trees' date=' houses and flats along the edges. it would be nice to live there, maybe.[/quote']No it wouldn't. It's SALFORD.
May 13, 200620 yr Maybe this porpoise is so far in because of the same reason those 200 odd dolphins came up dead in Zanzibar.
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