The white dolphin was spotted for the first time on Tuesday. On Thursday, the animal was located near Vernon, more than 60 miles from the coast, where rescuers were able to observe it for several hours before losing sight of the beluga. The French newspaper Le Monde reports that the white dolphin had covered more than thirty kilometers in one day.
Local authorities reported Thursday evening that the animal’s skin appears to have changed. The beluga is also malnourished. At the same time, the white dolphin spends relatively little time on the surface, indicating that it is getting enough oxygen. This complicates a possible rescue operation because the animal “flees boats and cannot be maneuvered towards the coast,” authorities said.
A spokesman for Sea Shepherd, an animal welfare organization, says the beluga cannot stay where it is now because the water in the Seine is “highly polluted” and the river “noisy.” Cetaceans are extremely sensitive to sound. The local authorities are calling for people to stay away from the animal to prevent it from experiencing additional stress.
The question is how to proceed with the beluga. Sea Shepherd is on the move with drones to keep a close eye on the animal. “It is important to continue to feed this beluga well to prevent it from meeting the same fate as the killer whale that died at the end of May,” the spokesman said. Then a seriously ill orca swam dozens of miles into the Seine after attempts to lead the animal back to sea failed. A month later, a suspected 10-meter-long minke whale was spotted in the river.
Normally such cetaceans occur in cold waters, but sometimes they appear further south. White dolphins can grow up to 5 meters in length.