[imagesource: Twitter / Sea Shephard France]
A poor Beluga whale has strayed thousands of kilometres away from its home, after being spotted cruising the River Seine in France.
Beluga whales typically live, hunt, and migrate together in pods in the cold, salty waters of the Arctic, so being in the warm, fresh water of the Seine must be quite a shock to the system.
Indeed, the marine mammal is refusing to eat and is devastatingly skinny, with bones jutting out, as a result.
Sky News reported that the four-metre whale was first seen on Wednesday between Paris and the city of Rouen in Normandy with a few signs that it could be starving itself to death:
Further health concerns had been raised after a few white spots were seen on its skin, as well as the fact that it is singing fewer whale songs.
It is quite amazing to see it keep its head above water, so to speak, despite its rapidly deteriorating health, with marine conservation group Sea Shepherd France saying that they “don’t know if it’s already too late”.
Police hoped to bring it back to health by stimulating its appetite with a cocktail of vitamins, one of the only options left after the whale snubbed frozen herring and live trout offered to it by Sea Shepherd France:
French authorities race to rescue a beluga whale that swam dozens of kilometers inland up the Seine river. pic.twitter.com/hU24ZVAURn
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 6, 2022
But it apparently still did not feed after being given the dose of appetite stimulants:
Hopes fading of saving a malnourished beluga whale in the Seine river.
Although rescuers have tried feeding it frozen herring and live trout, the animal has been refusing the food. Rescuers are racing against the clock to find a solutionhttps://t.co/D6pc1cWE0U pic.twitter.com/DlLnB7FUCM
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) August 8, 2022
BBC reports, too, that specialists are holding out “little hope” for the creature:
…leaving it in the warm stagnant water between the lock gates is no longer an option.
“He has to be moved in the coming 24 to 48 hours, these conditions are not good for him,” Sea Shepherd France head Lamya Essemlali told the AFP news agency.
“We are all doubtful about its own ability to return to the sea,” she said. “Even if we ‘drove’ it with a boat, that would be extremely dangerous, if not impossible.”
The only good sign is that the whale is still moving about, which the conservationists say rules out euthanasia.
Although, it still seems too weak to make it back to the sea. It will need to travel a far distance to its Arctic habitat, 160 kilometres up the river and out to the English Channel, before heading home.
We’re all holding thumbs that this one makes it out of France alive.
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