The beluga spotted in the Seine last Tuesday was in a stable condition on Monday, we learned from marine conservation NGO Sea Shepherd. “We have not noticed any deterioration in his health. He is awake but still not eating,” Sea Shepherd France head Lamya Essemlali told AFP.
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A cetacean adapted to cold water, exceptional in this river, still exists in Saint-Pierre-La-Garenne lock in the Ure.
A group from Marineland in Antibes (Alpes-Maritimes), Europe’s largest marine zoo, was expected in Eure in the evening. “We have been following the operations from afar since the beginning (…) We are progressing gradually. There is no single best solution, you have to weigh the pros and cons, analyze the pros and cons of each solution,” Marineland’s head of education, research and conservation, Isabel Fraser, told AFP.
Notably, among the three members of the Marineland team attending the beluga’s bedside is “a veterinarian who specializes in marine mammals,” he noted. The Marineland team does not bring any equipment with them. A stretcher, just a piece of cloth to put the animal on before moving it. Above all, we bring our skills,” Ms. Presser said.
Several attempts to feed the animal, “very thin”, have been made in recent days, but momentarily unsuccessful, day by day reducing its chances of survival.
In addition, prolonged stay in the warm and stagnant waters of the boot compared to its normal aquatic environment can be detrimental to its health. Possible hypotheses include extracting or opening the lock in the hope that he would return to the English Channel.
This is the second beluga known in France, after a fisherman from the Loire coast brought one up in his net in 1948, according to the Pelakis Laboratory, which specializes in marine mammals.
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