France: Beluga whale stranded in Seine river dies during rescue attempt

Local officials said Wednesday that the beluga whale stranded in the Seine river in northern France for more than a week has died during an attempt to rescue it.

Highlighting that the whale had to be put down during transport, the authorities in the Normandy region of Calvados tweeted, “Despite an unprecedented rescue operation, we must announce with sadness that the cetacean has died.”

Experts decided to humanely euthanise the creature as the dangerously thin white mammal began to have breathing difficulties.

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The marine conservation group Sea Shepherd France witnessed the extraction of the 800 kg (1,760 lb) cetacean.

Before local authorities confined it in a large lock system, the all-white beluga had swum nearly halfway to Paris.

Also see |How France rescued the beluga whale trapped in Seine river

It will be put in a saltwater lock after it is transported in a refrigerated lorry to the coastal town of Ouistreham.

Saying veterinary exams were done after the beluga was hauled out of the water after hours of preparation, the mammal had no digestive activity for unknown reasons.

Earlier, after attempts to guide it back to sea failed, a gravely ill orca swam dozens of miles up the Seine and died of natural causes in May.

In what was then the most southerly sighting of a beluga on British shores, a beluga whale was spotted in the River Thames near Gravesend in 2018.

(With inputs from agencies)

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