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Should soon be transported from the Seine towards the English Channel: the lost beluga whale
Photo: Jean-Francois Monier / dpa
The weakened beluga whale stuck in a Seine lock in France is to be returned to the sea.
"It seems possible for us to think about a transport to the sea," Deputy Prefect Isabelle Dorliat-Pouzet told BFMTV in Évreux today.
So far, this option has been ruled out because the whale seemed too weak for it.
However, experts are now advising to venture the transport towards the English Channel.
The possibility has been worked on since this morning.
The white whale also behaved a little more dynamically than before, Dorliat-Pouzet told the broadcaster.
Whale is curious, but does not eat
As the prefecture announced today, the beluga whale, which is around 70 kilometers from Paris, is still being observed by experts, and the fire brigade and gendarmerie are on site.
The Sea Shepherd France organization reported that the beluga whale was still not eating, but was curious.
In the early morning, he rubbed himself against the lock wall for 30 minutes, removing stains that had formed on his back.
Antibiotics might have helped, too.
The beluga whale was first sighted in the Seine last Tuesday and swam into the lock on Friday.
The standing water there is too warm for the already ailing animal.
The species normally lives in arctic waters off the coasts of Russia, Alaska and Canada.
Essemlali said the conditions in the lock were "not optimal" for the whale.
It is not the first time that a large whale has strayed into the French river: in May an orca starved to death after weeks of odyssey in the Seine, in July a fin whale was presumably sighted in the river estuary near Le Havre.
yup/dpa
