The extraction of the beluga, lost in the Seine for a week and whose state of health seemed stable on Tuesday August 9, promises to be an "
out of the ordinary
" operation, a member of the team told AFP. Marineland of Antibes (Alpes-Maritimes), arrival on site Monday evening.
News of the animal "
is correct
" Tuesday morning, said Isabelle Brasseur, one of the team members.
The scenario of the extraction operation is ready: “
This morning we have something that holds up.
We will present this plan to the people who will help us and we will refine it
” during these discussions, she said.
A meeting on the subject is scheduled for the end of the morning with the prefecture, another source who requested anonymity told AFP.
Asked by AFP, the prefecture did not respond immediately.
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In this case, “
what is out of the ordinary is the place
,” she noted.
The banks of the Seine "
are not accessible to vehicles
" at this location and "
everything must be transported by hand
".
The beluga will be transported by road to an unspecified location.
For the specialist, “
the priority is to put it back in seawater
”.
The animal would be deposited for a few days in a seawater lock, the time to be treated, before being taken offshore to be released there.
"
In any case, we have to get him out of there (...) We have to try to understand what he has
," said Isabelle Brasseur, about the animal, currently held in a lock on the Seine at Saint-Pierre-La-Garenne (Eure).
“
There may be internal degradations that cannot be seen
”, although these are “
extremely resistant
” cetaceans, she said.
In these manipulations,
we are going to do the various examinations throughout to try that there is no dead time, wasted time (...) the veterinarian will first carry out a visual examination, then a blood test, take a breath sample, etc.
“, developed Isabelle Brasseur.
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Asked about the feasibility of such an operation, given the size (about four meters) and the weight of the beluga (800 kilograms), Isabelle Brasseur pointed out that Marineland had in the past ensured the extraction and transport of larger animals, such as an orca born in Antibes and transported to the United States.
The lock where the beluga is held is more than 130 kilometers from the sea.
