Marine activists said Tuesday that a dangerous operation was planned to attempt to rescue a beluga whale stuck for a week in France’s Seine river.
The beluga — a species that should be found in arctic or subarctic waters — has being studied for days amid rising anxiety about its worsening condition.
About 40 miles northwest of the French capital, on the Seine, which flows directly through Paris, it was stuck floating slowly between two locks.
“A significant, intricate procedure that is not without danger but is necessary for the beluga will be carried out today. It’s a significant first for France “According to a post made on the Sea Shepherd Facebook page on Tuesday.
The main operation for today will include moving the beluga, which is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the ocean, to a saltwater basin that is more suited to its physiology so that it may undergo therapy and follow-up care, according to Sea Shepherd.
We want to know if we can treat the condition that is keeping him from eating, or whether it is untreatable.
The organisation pledged to cover the cost of the procedure and said that it was scrambling to raise 30,000 euros (about the equivalent in US dollars) for it.
According to Sea Shepherd, some of the items needed had already been generously donated.
As of Monday, specialists had little hope for the beluga’s survival. In the river northwest of Paris, it was first seen on last Tuesday.
The local police and fire departments were called in to keep an eye on it, and they closed it between two locks to keep it safe after using drones to watch its movements.
The 13-foot whale was described as being underweight and in terrible condition by veterinarians who were brought in by the authorities, which led many to believe that it had probably been declining for a number of weeks.
The beluga has not been successfully fed. It refused the meal even after veterinarians gave it steroid and antibiotic injections.
It’s conceivable the animal has been unwell for many weeks, according to Sea Shepherd, which has employees on the scene.
According to Lamya Essemlali, head of Sea Shepherd France, “its lack of hunger is probably definitely a sign of something else, something we don’t know about, an illness.”
“It has probably been malnourished for many weeks or possibly months. While it was still at sea, it stopped eating.”
The group did see that the whale was still moving, although slowly, and that it was still displaying interest in what was going on around it.
These considerations prevented discussions of the animal’s euthanasia up until the rescue effort plan was made public on Tuesday.