The four-meter-long animal was first spotted on Tuesday in the Seine, about 70 kilometers from Paris. Remarkable because a beluga, also called a white dolphin, is mainly found in arctic and subarctic seas. It is therefore rare that the animal is spotted in European rivers.
Scientists and authorities want to help the animal swim back to the open sea, but those attempts have so far been unsuccessful. The white dolphin, meanwhile, is also said to be severely malnourished. Frozen herring and trout had already been offered to the beluga, but the animal did not feel like it. It is therefore being considered to give the animal a syringe with vitamins so that it can regain its strength and resume the 160 km journey towards the Channel. Because letting the animal swim in the warmer still water, between locks, is no longer an option, it sounds.
We previously made the video below about the animal. Article continues below the video.
“It should be moved in the next 24 to 48 hours. These circumstances are not good for him,” the head of Sea Shepherd’s French branch told AFP. “We all doubt his own ability to return to the sea. Even if we were to ‘float’ it with a boat, it would be extremely dangerous, if not impossible.”
Scientists say there is “little hope” for the undernourished beluga. Spots were also seen on the white dolphin’s skin last weekend. It is not clear what causes this. It could be a reaction to the fresh water of the Seine. The animal would also ‘sing’ less and the animal reacts frightened.
It is unclear how to proceed now.
At the end of May, also in the Seine, an orca was spotted between Le Havre and Rouen. That animal did not survive. It had become trapped in the river and rescue efforts were unsuccessful.