Lost orca found dead in river as authorities plan to euthanize killer whale

Created: 05/30/2022, 17:46

By: Martina Lippl

Stray orca found dead in Seine (France).

© twitter screenshot/prefet76

An orca has been wandering around the Seine in France for several weeks.

Now skippers discovered the whale lifeless in the river.

Rouen - It is still unclear why the orca got lost in the Seine at all.

Two weeks ago, the four-meter-long orca male was sighted near the river mouth for the first time.

Then the whale made its way upstream towards the city of Rouen.

Now the sick killer whale has been found dead.

This was announced by the Seine-Maritime prefecture in Rouen.

Boatmen spotted the whale floating in the river on Monday morning.

Environmental organization Sea Shepherd France tweeted: "Unfortunately we found the body of the orca at 11:48am this morning.

We are currently with her to prevent her body from being hit by a ship, which would jeopardize the autopsy.” The activists said they would stay with the body until it was recovered.

France: Lost orca floats lifeless in the Seine

Piloting the lost orca towards the sea with the help of whale sounds failed on Saturday.

Authorities had prepared to euthanize the animal.

Tumors and a rash could be seen on drone images of the animal.

The orca was probably suffering from an advanced fungal infection and was very weak.

The whale has now died a "natural death" in the spirit of the activists.

A euthanasia of the marine mammal superfluous.

Stray orca dead - autopsy to be done

The animal, which weighs tons, is now to be dragged to the shore and salvaged.

After that, an autopsy and samples should be carried out by experienced veterinarians and biologists.

Questions such as why the orca got lost in the English Channel and the Seine must be clarified.

Local officials also hope to find clues to the cause of death and illness.

According to the Marine Mammal Research Group (GEEC), the whale was first sighted in early April by the crew of a trawler about 30 kilometers off the Normandy coast.

Since then it has been sighted along the coast, in the Seine estuary and upstream in the Seine.

Orcas are more commonly found off the coasts of Scotland, Iceland and Norway, and further south in the Atlantic Ocean in the Bay of Biscay, a GEEC expert explained.