France – The rescue of a beluga whale in France failed

The rescue of a beluga whale in northern France failed. Vets had to euthanize a whale that was freed from the Seine on Wednesday after it was taken to the English Channel. Calvados County said a veterinarian examined the vulnerable marine mammals upon their arrival in the coastal city of Osterham. Unfortunately, it turned out that his condition deteriorated significantly during transportation.

“Despite the unprecedented efforts to save the beluga whale, we are sorry to announce that the whale is dead,” the county tweeted. The county in Caen said the animal’s breathing deteriorated markedly during its transfer to the Normandy seawater aquarium. Official veterinarian Olivet Courtois said this was the reason for the euthanasia of the whale.

A beluga whale was first seen in the Seine on Tuesday last week and has been stuck in a padlock in Saint-Pierre-la-Garenne since Friday, about 70 kilometers from Paris – 130 kilometers from the mouth of the Seine on the English Channel. According to experts, the animal cannot live long in warm fresh water. Beluga whales usually live in the arctic waters off the coasts of Russia, Alaska and Canada.

The elaborate rescue operation was unsuccessful

In a complex rescue operation that lasted several hours, emergency services freed the vulnerable whale from the Seine during the night. The marine mammal, four meters long and weighing about 800 kilograms, was lifted from the lock with a net and a winch and, after an initial veterinary examination, loaded onto a barge and into a refrigerated truck.

The truck was supposed to take the whale to Ouistreham on the English Channel, about 160 kilometers away. In the port there, a seawater aquarium was equipped for him, where he was to breastfeed. Then he was brought back to the open sea. However, the French authorities did not rule out from the outset that the whale would not survive the transport. (Abba)