Reasons for whale death announced

Tests on the body of the whale that died after swimming into the Thames on Saturday have found a combination of factors caused her death.

Scientists say the female was suffering from severe dehydration, which means her body had lost a lot of water, and her kidneys were not working well.

They also said she had suffered from some muscle damage.

The northern bottle-nosed whale died on Saturday evening as rescue teams were trying to take her back out to sea.

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The whale first appeared in the river on Friday morning, and thousands of people crowded the riverbank to see the animal.

It appeared to be confused and distressed, so rescuers lifted her onto a barge so they could move her down the river towards the open sea.

But sadly the animal died at 7pm on Saturday.

Wrong turning

Northern bottle-nosed whales Scientific name: Hyperoodon ampullatus Length: 7.3 - 10m Lives in Arctic and northern Atlantic oceans Eats squid and fish

Scientists say they think that the whale mistakenly ended up in the North Sea, then headed up the Thames as it was trying to return to the Atlantic Ocean to eat squid.

It is possible that the animal was unable to feed while in the North Sea, so was very dehydrated by the time it swam up the River Thames.

Scientists are still carrying out tests on the whale's body, and hope to find out more information about the animal.

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After that, its body will be moved to the Natural History Museum where its skeleton will probably be put on display.