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France: Stray beluga whale dies after being rescued

2022-08-10T10:15:14.757Z


A stray beluga whale was retrieved from the water of the Seine in a major rescue operation. The French authorities are now reporting that the animal had to be euthanized after it was rescued.


Enlarge image

Vets take care of the beluga whale after the rescue

Photo: JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP

A beluga whale, four meters long and weighing around 800 kilograms, that got lost in the Seine in France is dead. The news was brought by the French prefecture of Calvados.

One has the sad duty to announce that the animal has died, it said, citing the treating veterinarians.

According to the Reuters news agency, the beluga initially suffered from breathing problems during transport to a seawater basin in Normandy and was then euthanized by veterinarians.

In a spectacular rescue operation, French forces had lifted the whale out of the water.

On Wednesday night, helpers heaved him with a crane in a net out of the lock in the northern French municipality of Saint-Pierre-la-Garenne.

Several veterinarians immediately took care of the marine mammal - but in vain.

In the past few days, several unsuccessful attempts to feed the emaciated and weakened animal.

According to experts, his lack of appetite could have been a sign of illness.

The beluga whale was first spotted in the Seine on Tuesday last week.

Since Friday he has been stuck in a lock in Saint-Pierre-La-Garenne around 70 kilometers from Paris - 130 kilometers from the Seine estuary on the English Channel.

According to experts, the animal could not survive long in the warm fresh water.

Beluga whales typically live in arctic waters off the coasts of Russia, Alaska, and Canada.

Animal rights activists therefore developed the idea of ​​hauling the marine mammal out of the river and transporting it to a seawater tank to feed it up and then releasing it into the sea.

The interest and willingness to donate in France was huge.

Among others, the marine protection organization Sea Shepherd collected donations for the rescue operation.

It was probably the second time that a beluga whale has lost its way to France.

The first time a fisherman spotted a whale in his nets in the Loire Estuary was in 1948.

ala/Reuters

Source: spiegel

All life articles on 2022-08-10

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