Yes, real, live sharks—just the small, shy ones that would rather eat a prawn than your leg. The Thames is actually one of the cleanest urban rivers in the world now, which is incredible when you remember it was declared biologically dead in the 1950s. These little guys are proof that the river’s got its mojo back, like a phoenix rising from a greasy chip wrapper.
Think of them as the river’s awkward but charming houseguests. They hang out near the estuary, where the river meets the salty North Sea, because they’re saltwater sharks who just pop over for a visit. You won’t see them doing cannonballs off the London Eye.
What Kind of Sharks Are We Talking About?
The tope shark is the biggest of the bunch, reaching about six feet long—roughly the size of a very determined Labrador. The starry smooth-hound has a name that sounds like a rejected band from the 90s, and it’s harmless. And the spurdog is a spiky little fella that could give you a scratch if you rudely grabbed it, but it’s not planning a snack out of you.
Let’s compare it to your local park pond. You might find ducks, and you might find a terrifying swan, but you don’t run screaming from the swan every time you walk past. That’s us with these Thames sharks. They’re there, they’re weird, and they’re mostly just trying to dodge the tour boats.
'Megalodon sharks with 5m tall fin' breach water in River Thames as
